


A Galaxy of Women

by astell, ce_ucumatli, FrenchClone, lesbian_geek_spiral, MlleClaudine, YouShouldntBeReal2



Category: Orphan Black, Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Adventure, All Leda clones, Canon Compliant, Canon Continuation, Collaboration, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2018-12-16 20:36:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11836590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astell/pseuds/astell, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ce_ucumatli/pseuds/ce_ucumatli, https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrenchClone/pseuds/FrenchClone, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbian_geek_spiral/pseuds/lesbian_geek_spiral, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MlleClaudine/pseuds/MlleClaudine, https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouShouldntBeReal2/pseuds/YouShouldntBeReal2
Summary: Delphine and Cosima travel the world in search of clones to cure, these are their adventures.This fanfic is open to anyone who would like to contribute a chapter (anyone, even you). If you have an idea for a chapter to show Cophine finding and curing one more clone somewhere in the world, please send us a message and we will add it to this story.





	1. Krystal Goderitch

**Author's Note:**

> If you would like to contribute a chapter, a clone, a Cophine adventure to this fic, please let us know.  
> You can send us a private message on [Tumblr](http://salixsericea.tumblr.com/) or Twitter (@FrenchClone), and we will discuss the details and help you if you want. You don’t need to be an experienced writer, you don’t need to be a native English speaker, you just have to be a member of the Clone Club; this is for the journey, together.
> 
> Welcome to the trip!

“Oh-em-geee, you look just like Sarah!” Krystal yelled as soon as she opened her door and saw Cosima standing on the other side.

“Uhm, yeah. We’re related,” Cosima responded, slightly startled by her clone’s enthusiastic greeting.

Krystal leaned forward a little, as if she was about to tell a secret to Cosima, but she did not whisper as she said, “You’re way hotter than her though!”

Delphine giggled and nodded her agreement. She was standing right next to Cosima, holding her hand as she watched the two clones interact.

“Thanks,” Cosima smiled. “Can we come inside?”

Krystal stepped aside, revealing an apartment filled with white furniture and many golden and colourful items scattered around. “Yes, of course!” She gestured for the two women to enter.

Cosima walked in, clearly relaxed, and pulled the a little more shy Delphine in with her. With an amused smile, Cosima winked at Delphine as she let go of her hand to be able to take her coat off. 

In the meantime Krystal was in the kitchen, pouring pink drinks into martini glasses. “Sit down, do you girls want a drink?”

Delphine and Cosima sat down on the white couch. Delphine carefully placed her bag to her right side, and laid her left hand on Cosima’s thigh. The clone immediately took hold of her hand, and toyed with it as the both of them had a look at the room which was the embodiment of Krystal’s personality. 

Behind them Krystal was humming in the kitchen, and not before long did she hand two glasses to the two women on the sofa. After she had gotten herself a drink, she fell into the chair opposed them. “It’s so good to see you again, French doctor. I totally thought you were going to die when those creepy guys took you from that parking lot.”

“Yes, so did I,” Delphine answered. She set down the glass without taking a drink, she had to drive later. “My name is Delphine,” she said, smiling politely.

“Oh, okay. Sorry, I never forget a face. I’m, like, super good at recognizing faces, but names are more difficult.”

“Of course,” Delphine nodded. She was not offended; aside from that short moment in the parking lot, she had shared only one conversation with this particular clone.

Krystal crossed her legs. A very high heeled boot swinging loosely. “How have you been, Delphine, after you got shot?” she asked, and took a long drink.

“Very busy.”

“Yeah, me too,” Krystal nodded. “I totally understand that.”

Cosima grinned at the exchange between her girlfriend and her clone. She loved meeting new clones; there was something so fascinating about their differences and similarities. She wanted nothing more than to meet every single clone. As the conversation between the other two women started to slow down, Cosima told Krystal, “Detectives Bell and Dawkins told us all about your investigation and everything.”

“I so showed them!” Krystal nodded enthusiastically. “And Sarah thought that she was my clone. Can you imagine?” she rolled her eyes at her clone’s stupidity. “We don’t even look alike, I’m totally more attractive than her.”

Cosima and Delphine smiled simultaneously. Delphine squeezed Cosima’s hand softly. “Yeah, obviously you are...”

“Way hotter!” Cosima exclaimed.

“Thanks,” Krystal smiled satisfied. “So why are you here?”

The smiles fell from Cosima and Delphine’s faces as they got to a much more serious topic. “Do you remember when Brie was poisoned by that cream?” Cosima asked Krystal.

“Yes! That was awful, she lost all her hair. Poor Brie,” Krystal shook her head as she held out the tube of cream for Delphine to examine, which had still been lying in a pile of cosmetics on a cabinet next to her chair. “She’s totally rocking a cute little pixie cut now…”

“Did you use anything else from that same big pharma company?” Delphine asked her.

“Did they give you, like, a shampoo, or nail polish, or something?” Cosima added.

“Oh my Gosh, yes. Shampoo!” Krystal’s hands went to her perfectly coifed curls. She hand her fingers through it, and then inspecting her hands for loose hairs. “Will my hair fall out too?” Her voice shot up a full pitch higher as she started to panic.

Cosima immediately shot up from her seat to calm Krystal down. “No! No. Krystal, don’t worry. We have an antidote.” She wrapped her arms around Krystal and gently put her back in her seat.

“You do?”

Cosima nodded, and glanced at Delphine, who was still sitting on the couch and now digging through her bag to retrieve the small metallic box. Cosima turned back to Krystal. “Yes, that’s why we’re here, because they infected some very important people, like you, and we have a cure for that.”

“Thank you,” Krystal sighed in relief.

With a soft smile, Delphine walked over, and sat down on the edge of the coffee table in front of Krystal. She opened the box and took the necessary equipment out. Both Krystal and Cosima watched her put on a set of gloves, and then skilfully fill the syringe with the cure that Cosima had fabricated. Delphine’s tongue poked between her teeth as she was fully focussed on her task.

“Can you please roll up your sleeve for me?” Delphine asked when she was ready.

Krystal nodded, and handed Cosima her glass.

\---

Three hours later they were standing outside; neither of them had intended to stay for so long, they still had a long drive ahead before they would be back in their basement apartment. Krystal had insisted they stayed for dinner; the beautician was so grateful for Delphine for having saved her hair, she had thanked the French doctor at least a dozen times, and it was difficult to just tell her goodbye. 

As they walked towards the car, Delphine’s arm loosely draped over Cosima’s shoulder, she smiled at her girlfriend. “That went well, no?”

“Totally,” Cosima agreed. “Who’s next?” 

They had just arrived at the car. After they had both gotten into their seat, Delphine pulled a folder out of her bag and showed Cosima the short list of confirmed clones they were aware of. Several names were crossed out. Cosima, Charlotte, Sarah, Helena, and Alison all had a bright green stripe through their names, doctor Cormier had declared them cured. Others, such as Beth, Katja, Veera, and at least twenty others were confirmed deceased, most of them by Helena; those were crossed out with a red marker.

Cosima handed Delphine a green marker from her own bag. 

“Merci,” Delphine mumbled as she crossed out Krystal’s name. “Tomorrow we have an appointment with Tony. But you know very well we can’t reach all the clones, we don’t even know their names, let alone how to find them.” She handed the list to Cosima, and turned the key in the ignition.

“Right, we might have a cure, but they’re probably everywhere and we have no money to distribute it…” Cosima ran her finger along the short list, of which only Tony was not yet crossed out. “It’s such a stupid reason, after all that we went through, we simply lack the funds to find and cure them.” She gestured wildly, trying to convey her frustration to Delphine.

Delphine did not take her eyes off the road while she listened to her girlfriend. “Cosima, we’ve been over this.” It was unlike Delphine to give up, but the two women had spent several weeks trying to come up with any plan at all, and geography was their ultimate defeat; they would need to travel the entire world in order to find and safe all of the Leda sisters, and that was both time consuming and expensive. Time they had, more than enough now, but with neither of them having had a job for the past few months, money was something none of the Clone Club members had to spare. “Sadly Dyad did a great job at distributing these clones all over the world, so that they would not accidentally run into each other.”

Cosima stuffed the list into her bag and leaned into her seat. She stared at Delphine’s face, occasionally illuminated by a street lantern. “And somehow there’s like five of them living in Toronto, that was even before we became aware.”

“A weird coincidence.”

The clone sighed deep. 

\---

A few weeks later, long after they had cured Krystal and Tony, Delphine and Cosima were enjoying a welcome break from their fight against the clone defect. Their days were lazy and they were busy making up for the lost time during their three month separation. They rediscovered each other, their mind and bodies; to erase the scars of their souls

Tonight, they had met with Sarah at Bobby’s. It was late and a school night, so when Sarah had left to relieve Felix of his babysitting duties, Cosima and Delphine had not lingered long at the bar. They stepped into the Rabbit Hole. There were a few guys playing a game in a corner of the comic book store. They looked up at the two women entering, but as they closed the door behind them, they got back to the board set before them.

Only Scott greeted them. “There’s someone here to see you.”

“Who?” Cosima asked, instantly curious.

“You’ll see. She’s downstairs, waiting.”

Cosima raised an eyebrow at Delphine, who shrugged back at her. They were not expecting any guests tonight. They had hoped to spend the rest of the evening and night together, preferably in bed, like they had done almost every day since Delphine had returned from France.

With a quick wave at the gamers, the two women disappeared behind the shop counter and then down the hidden stairs into the basement. The lights were on, but neither of them saw anyone waiting in the sitting area directly opposed to the stairs.

In the part of the basement that was equipped as a makeshift laboratory, they found Rachel standing in front of the whiteboard with the information on the cured clones. Her hands were clasped in front of her, and she was calmly observing the data in front of her. She slowly turned around, and nodded at the two scientists who had just entered. None of them spoke a word for a brief moment.

“Rachel,” said Cosima, finally breaking the silence.

“Miss. Niehaus. Dr. Cormier,” Rachel inclined her head ever so briefly. She walked over to the couch and sat down. “Good evening.”

Delphine frowned at Cosima. She would never get used to the way Rachel behaved. Slightly hesitantly, even though she lived in the basement, Delphine sat down in the chair across from Rachel. “Good evening, Rachel.”

“Evening,” Cosima said reluctantly. She still could not bring herself to trust Rachel, despite the things she had done, or maybe because of the things she had done. “How did you find us here?” she asked, as she sat down on the arm of the chair Delphine was occupying.

“Felix told me where to find you.”

“I’m gonna kill him.”

“Cosima, there’s nobody left. Dyad is gone. Neolution is gone. The military is no longer involved,” Delphine sighed. She glanced between the two clones, finding it hard to believe she was defending Rachel. “There is nobody Rachel can tell we’re here. We might as well trust her, unless she intends to murder us herself, but we’re two and she’s alone.”

“Delphine is right.” Rachel appeared entirely calm, if not slightly exasperated. “Cosima, I’m not here to murder you. I have no reason to want you dead, we are both cured of this defect, we can go our separate ways.”

“Right, so why are you here if you no longer want anything to do with us?” Cosima gestured wildly, and got one of her many bracelets tangled in Delphine’s curls.

“Because I have one last thing to do before I retire.”

Carefully, Cosima untangled the bracelets, and pressed a soft kiss to Delphine’s temple.

Delphine glanced up at Cosima, giving her a gentle smile. Then with a more serious look she turned back to Rachel. “What do you have to do?”

“A few weeks ago I gave Felix a list of Leda clones. Since then I have been dismantling the Dyad institute, and I have found more information that may be of interest to you.” From her purse Rachel retrieved a hard drive, and a stack of papers which looked older than the clones were. “Use it as you wish.”

“Thanks,” Cosima said. When she picked up one of the files, the edges of the brown folder crumbled. Inside were reports of what seemed to be the first attempts at human cloning. If nothing else, this would be an interesting read.

Delphine peeked at the papers Cosima was holding. “This is not the only reason you came here?”

Rachel smiled and shook her head. “No, it is not. As I told Felix a few weeks ago: I am trying to live an anonymous life, and that leaves little room for elitism. Yet, I am the sole heiress of Ethan and Susan Duncan, as well as Aldous, Ferdinand, and Westmoreland. They were rich people, and I am now a wealthy heiress. Too wealthy for anonymity…”

Cosima and Delphine shared a glance but neither dared to interrupt Rachel.

“I have my lawyers send you the money. I only hold back a modest sum I intent to use to support my own living. You will need to find someone capable of handling these funds for you. I suggest you set up a non-profit organisation to avoid taxes.”

For a brief moment it was almost completely silent in the basement. Only the sound of the machines working in the background interrupted the moment. 

“Wow, that’s totes awesome…” Cosima finally said, a little hesitantly. “But why are you giving us this money?”

Rachel did not answer. She just looked at the stove in which the cure was waiting for more clones to receive it.

“Of course,” Delphine smiled.

“What? I don’t get it.”

Rachel sat up a little straighter. “You cured me,” she said to Delphine. “You did not need to help me get another eye after Neolution had fallen; I had no means of demanding your help. Yet you did help me.”

“I took an oath to help those who are sick,” Delphine said. She wrapped her arm around Cosima and continued, “And I swore that I would love all of Leda.”

Cosima nodded. She adjusted her glasses and added to Delphine’s explanation. “It is not a fun disease, the clone disease. It is an agonising and slow way to die. I wouldn’t wish that to my worst enemy…”

“I understand. So I will leave you this money, the only thing I ask in return is that you use it to cure as many of,” Rachel hesitated for a second, swallowed her pride and said, “of our sisters as possible.”

The two women on the chair smiled at the clone on the couch. This was much better than they had dared to hope for; this was the solution to all their problems. “Thank you.”

Rachel nodded and put down another, newer, folder on top of the ones she had put on the table earlier. “I will leave you these documents. Have someone get in touch with my lawyer and figure out the details.” She got up from her seat and started to walk towards the stairs. “I can see myself out.”

Cosima forced herself out of her stunned state of paralysis. She ran to catch up with Rachel at the bottom of the stairs and threw her arms around her, drawing her into a tight embrace. 

For a moment Rachel allowed her sister to hug her, remaining stiff. Then, almost unnoticeable, though Cosima could feel it, she relaxed a little bit. Her hand briefly touched Cosima’s back before she let go. “Farewell Cosima.”

“Farewell Rachel,” Cosima answered. She watched Rachel ascent the stairs and exit back into the comic book shop.

\---

A month later, Cosima was sitting on the edge of the bed. Delphine was sitting on the floor, next to a bag going through its contents one last time to make sure they had not forgotten anything.

After Rachel had left, Cosima had called a Clone Club meeting. The family had agreed that this was the right thing to do with the money, and Adele had set up a foundation for them as Rachel had suggested. As Sarah had suggested, they had named it the Sadler and Daughters’ Foundation. The logistics of the operation had taken them a few weeks. 

The plan was simple; Cosima and Delphine would travel the world in search for clones and cure them. Delphine had the medical knowledge and Cosima had made the cure. Besides, now that they were together at last, neither of them felt like being separated. Art would help them find the clones, and the laboratory in the basement would be left in the capable hands of Scott, who would produce more of the cure if they would need it. He would also take care of their basement home, so that the two women could return to Canada whenever they were finished with their task.

Rubbing over the slightly irritating spot where she had received her rabies vaccination only yesterday, Cosima decided that they were entirely ready for this adventure. They had all the possible vaccinations, medications, and clothes for any climate. Most importantly the cure was packed safely in Delphine’s carry-on luggage.

“I think we have everything.” Delphine announced and joined Cosima on the bed. Slowly, she kissed the clone and then pulled her to lie down in her arms. “We’re going to Colombia tomorrow.” Delphine said as if she still did not entirely believe it herself. “To cure Camilla Torres.”

“Yeah,” Cosima held up her own bright pink folder with purple flowers on them. Colour coded inside were the flight information, a hotel reservation, even a map of Cartagena for when they arrive in Colombia. “Alison arranged everything for us.”

“I’m glad she will be helping us with those logistics. This way we can just focus on the crazy science,” Delphine told Cosima. She pressed another soft kiss on Cosima’s lips, and rested her forehead against that of her girlfriend. Their bags were packed and tomorrow morning they would fly to Colombia, to find Camilla and cure her.

And after that, who knew what would happen. There were many more clones to cure all over the world, it was up to Cosima and Delphine to find them and help them.


	2. Camila Torres

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cosima and Delphine are in Colombia to save another Leda clone...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We remind you that this fanfic is open to anyone who would like to contribute a chapter.  
> If you have an idea for a chapter to show Cophine finding and curing one more clone somewhere in the world, please send us a private message on Tumblr or Twitter (our addresses accounts are in our profiles).  
> You don’t need to be an experienced writer, you don’t need to be a native English speaker, you just have to be a member of the Clone Club.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we will arrive at Cartagena’s airport. It is 4:30 pm, it is sunny and hot weather, the ground temperature is 28°C. We’ll land in a few minutes, so please fasten your seatbelt. On behalf of Air Canada, I hope you had a pleasant flight. We wish you a good continuation of your trip or a pleasant stay in Cartagena.”

While the captain repeated her speech in Spanish, Delphine squeezed Cosima’s arm tenderly: “Ma Chérie, it’s time to wake up, we’re arriving…”

Stretching her body and smothering a yawn, Cosima replied: “Mmm, oh fuck, I was dreaming!”

“I guess you were dreaming! You fell asleep just after we took off from Bogota and since, you have a smile on your face… I can bet I heard you moaning...”

“It’s not my fault if there was a gorgeous woman in my dream...” grinned Cosima.

“A gorgeous woman? Really? And what happened with this gorgeous woman?”

“Oh I don’t remember... Actually, I barely understood her, she was speaking a strange language. I just understood the words: Paris, ohlala, voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir, stuff like that. Absolutely insane!!”

“You’re always such a brat!”

They laughed together, happy to live openly their new freedom. At the same time, the plane started its descent to Rafael Nunez airport; the flight attendants were walking in the aisle, checking the security arrangements.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

After retrieving their luggage, the two women exited the airport to get a taxi. Once seated in the cab, Delphine told the driver: “San Pedro Hotel por favor, Calle San Pedro Màrtir.” She turned her face to Cosima: “I think Alison booked us a great hotel! There is a spa and a swimming pool.”

“Oh really? In this hot weather, I’d love to dive headfirst, directly from the bedroom’s window!” replied the American.

Delphine couldn’t help but replying: “Please, don’t kill yourself now, we fought too hard to keep you alive!”

“You’re right Babe! Instead of talking about my reckless intentions, could you give me Camila’s medical file please? I guess we have some time until our arrival to verify the process.”

While Delphine was taking the file out of her bag, Cosima was checking in her girlfriend‘s carry-on luggage if the treatment was still there, intact: “Ok, it’s alright,” and opening the file which Delphine held out to her: “So, Camila Torres, born in Barranquilla, Atlantico district, in the North of Colombia, 30 years old next month. She has been living in Cartagena for three years, with Antonio, her boyfriend, who is also her monitor by the way... Fuck Dyad and their monitors!”

“I’m sorry Cosima…”

“Yeah I know. Forget it. I know that without this shitty monitor system, I would have never met you, but still…”

Delphine tried to reassure her girlfriend, who was obviously upset about this reminder, by gently caressing her hand. She asked softly: “Would you mind continuing your reading, please?”

“Yeah, obvs. So, she studied Colombian and South American History in Barranquilla, at the “Universidad del Atlantico”... I guess we can translate that by “University of the Atlantic”, right?

Delphine agreed and Cosima continued the reading: “She’s a tourist guide in the Old Town where the Cathedral Santa Catalina de Alejandría, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, is; and, one year ago, she started a Master in Social Communication and Journalism at the University Jorge Tadeo Lozano, UTADEO as everybody calls it.”

Cosima stopped to talk and looked through the car’s window: “This city is beautiful…”

“Yes, indeed... Something’s wrong, ma Chérie?” asked Delphine.

“I don’t know…” Cosima turned her face to Delphine: “This city is beautiful, this woman is beautiful, you’re beautiful…”

“But?”

“But I’m afraid we can’t cure all of them, if they don’t want the treatment, if we don’t find them, if there is not enough money, if their monitors block us, if, if... I don’t know, anything could happen and we are just starting our work! 240 women all around the world! Can you imagine it?!”

“No. No, I can’t imagine all Neolution did either. I discovered a lot of things when I was at the Dyad Institute, when I was on the island, but all of the Leda project is beyond my imagination. But we can do it, Cosima, we can do it. Rachel gave us the money to finance the production of the treatments, the travels and so on. We’re not alone, and you and me, together, we will cure your sisters. Alright?”

Cosima nodded silently.

“I made a promise, Cosima, I promised to love all of you, to protect all of you, and my task isn’t finished yet. And I won’t give up.”

“I know, I know... Sorry, I guess I’m a little bit tired after this journey. We left Toronto quite early this morning; and the last weeks were exhausting with the creation of the foundation.”

“It’s okay, we will rest at the hotel. I have an appointment with Camila’s gynecologist tomorrow in the morning, there’s no rush. We can relax this evening and, while I’m at the health center, you could visit the town or the harbor tomorrow, after the brunch…”

“I would prefer the brunch tonight if you don’t mind,” Cosima replied, with a grin.

“Anything you want, Chérie,” said Delphine while she kissed Cosima’s palm.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

While Delphine was at the reception desk of the hotel to check-in, Cosima was sitting on a chair in the lobby hall, still reading Camila’s file. When Delphine returned from the desk, Cosima told her: “Did you know that before Antonio, Camila had another monitor? Her name was, hmm, Elena.”

Walking through the lobby with their bags, to reach the lift, Delphine mumbled absently: “Mmm? No, I didn’t know... What happened then?”

The elevator doors opened and the two women entered: “It seems that they broke up.”

“Oh no! Do you know why?”

“Well, there’s not a lot of details, but apparently, Camila wanted a baby, but Elena didn’t want to... Elena explained in her report to Dyad that she didn’t want to get involved with a child because she, well… she wasn’t in love with Camila. She was her monitor only for the money.”

“I’m sorry Cosima, it’s... I don't know, but it shouldn't have been…”

“Yeah, it shouldn't. But it is like that…”

The doors opened, they exited the elevator to go to their room, without a word, too tired to talk, but their minds were thinking of the insanity of the Leda project.

Once the hotel room’s door closed, their coats on the chairs, the suitcases opened, the visit of the bedroom and the balcony done, Delphine started to talk, grabbing Cosima’s hand: “Babe... come here. I’m sorry about Elena, I don’t...”

But, removing her hand, Cosima abruptly cut her words: “No. No, Delphine, don't say anything, there’s nothing to say. This Elena was Camila’s monitor for the money? Fine! This girl doesn’t know she let an amazing woman down. Fuck that! I've known for a year or so that I’m not who I thought I was. I know that I’m the product of a huge scientific, fucking and horrible experiment.”

Cosima was walking, her hands throwing the air around her. She couldn’t stop the flow of her words: “Two men and two women decided to create us, to experiment on us, like if we were some lab rats. We defied them and we won our freedom, not only Sarah, Helena and Alison’s freedom, no, the freedom of all the clones alive. And for that, I won’t let anybody or anything get me sad or mad or crazy. You see?”

The French woman could only nod, she was listening with tears in her eyes Cosima’s speech.

“I’m free, Delphine, I’m free now and forever; and nobody can’t take this freedom away from me. Nobody. Do you hear me Delphine?”

“Of course, I hear you, mon Amour,” replied the doctor softly.

The American walked through the room to come closer and put her arms around Delphine’s neck: “Good. Because now, Babe, kiss me, hold me tightly, let me feel I’m a human being and not a monster.”

“Come here, come here,” her hands on Cosima’s cheeks, Delphine said: ”you’re not a monster, you’re a wonderful woman and I love you, I love you so much.”

That night, the two women made love with more passion than ever, Delphine saying not only the usual words of love, but also, with a soothing voice, the words of commitment; while Cosima listened with trust to those promises of a comforting and stunning future.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Holà, Señorita Torres! Please come in, I have good news for you.”

The doctor opened the door, and a woman stepped inside the room. Like the other clones, Camila looked like Cosima, but with a little something different, the little something that Delphine couldn’t define, something that made each clone so unique.

Camila was wearing a dark shirt with rose and red flowers, and white trousers. Her long hair tied in a messy bun, was beautiful.

She entered the medical office and shook the doctor’s hand: “Hello Doctor Cruz. I’m glad to hear that!”

“Let me introduce you to Doctor Cormier. She’s the research manager at the Sadler and Daughters Foundation, a Canadian NGO.”

The two women shook hands, “Enchantée...”

“Camila... Enchantée.” Camilla tried to repeat the French word, her accent was cute and recalled to Delphine her first meeting with Cosima, months ago in a university in Minnesota.

The man continued: “I just spoke with Doctor Cormier and she explained me that her foundation has an international program of research about infertility, especially for the tumors you have in your uterus. It seems that the foundation has a cure for those tumors.”

“Oh really? That’s fantastic!”

“Indeed Miss Torres, it’s fantastic.” The doctor stood up: “I have to leave you, I have an emergency. But as you can hear, Doctor Cormier speaks Spanish very well, so you can continue this consultation without me.”

The two women stood up from their chairs to say goodbye to the gynecologist and then he left the room with white and blue walls.

In Spanish, Delphine started to talk: “First, please, call me Delphine.”

“Alright. Call me Camila then.”

“Of course. So Camila, if you don’t mind, I will explain you the treatment and proceed to a quick medical examination. Please, could you sit on the examination table?”

“Yes of course. Do I have to undress myself?”

“No, it’s not necessary. Just open your shirt a bit, I will listen your heartbeat, measure your temperature and blood pressure.”

“Alright.”

Camila unbuttoned her shirt while Delphine took her medical devices from her bag.

After she got all information she needed, Delphine said: “Perfect, everything is fine. You can dress.”

While the Colombian clone buttoned her shirt, Delphine continued to speak: “So, I talked to Doctor Cruz about your case when I was in Toronto. We were looking for women with infertility. As you know, you have some tumors in your uterus. At the foundation, we had discovered that those tumors could cause some lung cancers, and unfortunately death. But luckily, our researchers found an effective cure. It’s only one injection in the arm. It’s painless, just maybe a fever, but nothing to be afraid of. Do you understand me Camila?”

“I think so... Are you telling me that you can cure my infertility? Or...”

“No. I’m sorry but for now, this treatment can’t heal your infertility. It’s only to cure the cancer.”

“Well, I guess I can’t complain. Because if I’m dead, I can’t definitely become a mother, can I?” replied Camila with a big smile.

“Yes absolutely!” said Delphine with enthusiasm, “Now that we had found this cure, our next step is to find the right treatment against women’s sterility, but it’s a long work as you can imagine.”

“Yes I imagine… But I can’t accept your treatment.”

“What? I’m sorry, but why?” asked nervously Delphine.

“I’m a student, I have a half time job, my boyfriend is a cabinetmaker, and I can’t simply afford this medication.”

“Camila, do not worry about money... Everything is free, the Sadler and Daughters Foundation can bear all the costs,” replied Delphine while she was taking a syringe and a vial with the precious treatment.

“I feel so blessed, how can I thank you?... Have you been to Cartagena before?”

While Delphine shook her head and replied: “No, it’s our first time.”

Camila nodded and Delphine moved closer to the other woman. With a cotton ball soaked with alcohol, she swabbed Camilla’s arm.

The clone suggested: “Please, you must go to my favorite restaurant. La Garza. It’s only a short walk.” While Delphine pressed the needle in the skin, Camila grimaced due to the little injury.

To distract herself from the pain, Camila started to speak again: “Best fried and coconut rice in the world.”

Delphine took off the needle and smiled at her. She leaned forward to put the syringe on the table on the other side. She replied: “La Garza. We will.”

“Tell them you’re a friend of Camila.” She got off the table and took her bag while Delphine removed her latex gloves.

She added “Thank you,” and squeezed Delphine’s arm.

Moved by the memories that suddenly hit her, Delphine replied: “You can thank some very determined women.”

They shared a last look and Camila Torres left the medical office.

Delphine started to stow the files and the vials in her bag. Cosima, a file in her hand, entered the room: “Did Camila Torres just ask you to dinner?”

“Maybe,” grinned Delphine.

“Uh-huh.”

The two women smiled softly and stepped closer to each other.

Cosima read her sheet of paper: “Okay, well, we first have to go to Brazil ‘cause there’s fourteen more of us there.”

“Do you know my Portuguese is terrible?”

Cosima lifted her head and kissed her girlfriend. They pressed their foreheads together a few minutes and Cosima added: “With such a brilliant mind, and such a skillful tongue, you won’t be terrible at Portuguese for long…”

“Hey, Señora Niehaus, it rhymes! Are you a poet now, in addition of being a scientist?!”

“I guess I’m not the one you thought I was…”

They packed their bags and exited the health clinic to go back to the hotel, smiling and side by side.

It was definitely a great day to save another Leda clone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my great beta, Lesbian_Geek_Spiral  
> Thanks to ce_ucumatli   
> Please, join the trip to save the Leda Clones!


	3. Rebecca  Twell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not read the Classified Clone Reports that was recently published, so some of this may contradict what's presented there.

When she reached the intersection where the paved road met the gravel one, Cosima stopped. She let the gallon jugs of water fall to the ground and rolled her arms around in their sockets a bit. Overhead, a capuchin monkey scampered along a power line, it's tail wrapped around the wire above it. And of course, the clouds were gathering again. It was a wonder that Costa Rica even had weather reporters, she thought; the weather here was like clockwork – after lunch it rained, non-stop, for the rest of the day, letting up some time around midnight.

“Shit,” she muttered. 

Before moving on, she looked both ways down the gravel road. They'd been in Cahuita, a tiny tourist town on the Caribbean coast, for three days, and every time Cosima had left the hotel on her own, she had gotten lost on the way back. Out of habit, she checked her phone, but the GPS was useless out here. Sighing, she picked the jugs of water back up and struck left. It seemed the more familiar view, at least. 

The sky opened up less than five minutes later, drenching Cosima to the bone and blinding her. “Lasik,” she muttered. “When we get back, I'm getting fucking Lasik.” 

She wouldn't, she knew. She hated putting contacts in her eyes, and lasers were a thousand times worse, but when the rain coated her glasses, she'd left the umbrella in the hotel again, and her hands were full, Lasik sounded really, really appealing. 

Eventually, Cosima set the jugs down again and took off her glasses with a huff. It was actually easier to see without them, for once. With them on, all she saw were sheets of water, but without them, she could make out shades of light and dark, and she could tell if a building was in front of her or not. She tucked them into her bag, careful to shield them from the cans of chicken broth and packs of tortillas. 

As she walked on, she turned her thoughts to their job here. They had spent the past few weeks traveling Latin America, armed with the cure for the clone disease, a list of names, decent Spanish and terrible Portuguese, and an ATM card for a bank account with almost a million dollars in it. Every time she swiped that card at an ATM or an airport, Cosima said a silent “Thank you,” to Rachel for the funds. And every time she looked at the list of 274 names, she wondered how many names were missing, removed before Cosima even knew she was a clone herself. So far, she and Delphine had cured or vaccinated three Ledas outside of their little Clone Club in North America. Camila was the first, followed by two in Brazil. Eventually it should have been fourteen in Brazil, but one died just before their arrival in the country, and one, Erika Maria Santos, was said to be here, in or near Cahuita, visiting friends. Cosima and Delphine would have stayed in Brazil longer, and looked for Erika Maria later, but her family claimed she was coughing up blood and had suffered at least one seizure. Apparently, she was also in deep denial about her condition. They desperately needed to treat her, but after three days in Cahuita, there was still no sign of her. 

Lost in thought, Cosima sloshed through ankle-deep water along the side of the road until her feet went down a foot too far, propelling her farther down until the water reached her chest. The jugs of water hit the ground, her hands still gripping the handles, and splashed brown water into her face. In the moment, her first thought was the piles of garbage and horse manure that sat in every ditch around the country, and now she was in a ditch soaking in all of that. At least her mouth was closed. She couldn't dwell long on that, though, as the water pushed her forward and it took all her effort to stay upright. 

“Oh shit shit shit shit...” She dug her hands into the loose gravel of the roadway, but it fell away with every attempt to pull herself up. A small voice in her head told her that this was how people died in floods.

A truck drove by and splashed more water at her, then stopped a moment later. A man ran over to her and grabbed her by the wrists, pulling her out of the ditch. She fell gracelessly against his legs when she tried to right herself, and he said things in Spanish she didn't understand. Shaking, dizzy, and functionally blind, she let him lead her, with repeated requests of “Venga, venga...” to the pickup stopped close by. He opened the passenger door for her and handed her the jugs of water. Inside the extended cab, another passenger shifted aside to let her in. Once she was seated and the door was closed, Cosima realized she was dripping all over the place. “Oh, fuck, I'm so sorry,” she said. “This will ruin your upholstery.”

The woman beside her laughed and handed her a dry handkerchief. In a soft Scottish accent, she said, “I don't think that's our greatest concern right now, love.”

English! In different circumstances, Cosima would have hated herself for the joy that bloomed at hearing her own language. She took the handkerchief with a smile and dabbed her eyes with it, then fished her glasses from her bag and dried them off. While she did, the driver climbed back in and spoke softly with the passenger. 

“Thank you so, so much for helping me out,” she said. Realizing the man might not speak English like his passenger did, she added, “Muchas gracias. Muchas, muchas gracias,” and hoped she had the gender agreement right. At the same time, she realized she was sitting in a strange vehicle with strange people who could take her anywhere. At least the door was unlocked.

“De nada. No worries,” the passenger said. Cosima got the distinct impression that they were both waiting for her, so she pushed her glasses on and turned to thank them again before stepping back out into the rain and getting back to the hotel. Once she could see again, though, she froze. Sitting in the pickup next to her, with green streaks in her hair and wire-rim glasses, was a Leda clone. 

“Holy shit,” Cosima whispered. 

The passenger held out her hand with a sigh. “I know. I'm Rebecca. Can we give you a lift somewhere? Maybe have a chat?”

Only once on their trip so far had Cosima come face-to-face with another clone, also completely by accident. That time, after a sleepless night on a bus from Brasilia to Belo Horizonte, Cosima stumbled into the clinic waiting room without checking first that their patient was gone. That clone, Adriana Grael, looked Cosima right in the eye, smiled politely, said something in Portuguese, and went on her way without a second glance while Cosima gaped at her and wondered what to say. This clone, this Scottish Rebecca in the pickup truck, was a different matter entirely.

“Sure,” Cosima said. “I'm Cosima. Nice to meet you.”

The driver nodded and tapped Rebecca on the shoulder as he adjusted his seat. “Co-si-ma,” he repeated, then leaned past Rebecca to shake Cosima's hand and introduce himself as Eduardo. “Te lo dije,” he told Rebecca. “No es Julia.”

“Sí, lo veo,” Rebecca said. “So, Cosima, where can we take you?”

Cosima gave her the name of the hotel, and Eduardo drove back in the direction Cosima had come from. Figures, Cosima thought. I was going the wrong way anyway. Again.

Rebecca watched her during the ten minute drive with the sort of calm, confident attention that Cosima recognized. She'd had the same look on her own face when she first met Alison and, later, Sarah. It was the look Beth had when she showed up at Cosima's favorite coffee shop in Berkeley, in the weirdest not-date Cosima'd ever had. Cosima turned to face Rebecca in the cab and returned the gaze. Rebecca was the only other clone Cosima'd seen with glasses, and it fascinated her that Rebecca chose such different frames for hers than Cosima did. 

“Who's Julia?” Cosima asked. One of the Brazilian still on their list was named Julia, but she wasn't ready to give up that information just yet.

“Julia Luiz,” Rebecca said, and Cosima's eyebrows shot up. “She's from Brazil. She also looks just like you – like us. We thought you might be her. She, uh, doesn't have dreadlocks, though. Or glasses, but you weren't wearing those when we saw you back there.”

“Right. So you are aware, then.”

“Aware?”

Cosima held herself back from using the word clone. “You're aware that there's others who look just like us. You've met some?”

Rebecca took a deep breath. “Yeah. Haven't met you before, though.”

“Ditto. Obvs.”

Eduardo parked the truck in front of the hotel. Cosima needed to talk to Rebecca a lot more, but she also needed to get inside, and now was not a good time to invite a stranger into the room. Rebecca, fortunately, was on the same page. She pointed to the little restaurant attached to the hotel. “Do want to get breakfast together tomorrow? We can talk more then, I think.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds great. Perfect. Um, if you don't mind telling me, what's your last name?”

“Twell.” She reached out her hand for another shake. “Dr. Rebecca Twell. From Edinburgh, but I live in Glasgow. Here on vacation.” She gave a grin that showed slightly overlapping front teeth, an unusual feature for a Leda, but maybe she'd just never had braces.

“Vacation, yeah. When you're not pulling your identicals out of ditches, you mean?”

They both smiled, and Rebecca nodded. “Well, you're the first I've done that with, and hopefully you'll be the last. Breakfast tomorrow at 8?”

“Sounds good. Thanks again. Gracias, Eduardo.”

As Cosima squelched her way towards the room, she ran over the details she knew of Rebecca so far. A doctor of some kind, with glasses and nontraditional hair, who was at least somewhat self-aware and in contact with another Leda. Probably more than one other Leda, judging by how calm she was when Cosima showed up. There were enough similiarities to make Cosima very interested indeed, and she wondered how many other similarities she would uncover. Hopefully not too many; enough people flirted with Delphine as it was. 

Inside the room, she put those little worries aside. Delphine was more or less the same as she'd been when Cosima left, sprawled out on her stomach on top of the bedsheets, wearing her little gray gym shorts and nothing else. The trashcan sitting next to the bed was empty, meaning she had probably slept the entire time Cosima was gone. She only moved when Cosima removed her sandals and dropped them by the door.

“You forgot your umbrella,” Delphine said, her voice muffled by the pillow. 

“That was one thing that happened, yes.” She peeled off her clothes and dropped them into the garbage bag they were using as a laundry bag. They would need to be washed ASAP, but first, she needed to wash herself. “I'll tell you more after I shower.”

When she emerged twenty minutes later, after scrubbing every surface of her body and hair but avoiding the temptation to use bleach on her skin, Cosima put on her pajama pants and a T-shirt. Delphine was on her back now, and her ribs were more obvious and her skin more pale than Cosima would've liked them to be. Cosima got a jug of water and refilled the glass on the bedside table, then opened a can of chicken broth. Only then did she realize that their room lacked a microwave. Seeing Cosima look around and then drop her shoulders in disappointment, Delphine reached over and rubbed her knee. 

“It's okay. It doesn't have to be hot.”

“Kind of nasty if it's room temp, though, isn't it?”

Delphine managed to shrug and pull herself into a sitting position. “It's okay. Really.”

Cosima poured some of the broth into a plastic bowl and got a spoon for her, then opened a pack of tortillas and settled onto the bed beside her girlfriend. She was tempted to check her temperature again, but she had checked a few hours ago, and Delphine was looking a little better, so she didn't. She knew exactly how annoying it was to be treated like an invalid. Instead, she rested her hand on Delphine's thigh and watched her take little sips of chicken broth. “You did have to wait until we were in, like, the smallest town ever to get food poisoining, didn't you?”

“It's not food poisoning.”

“Right.” Two days earlier, the nurse at the local clinic proclaimed Delphine to be suffering from food poisoning, overriding Delphine's own claims that she had gotten sick from the local water. The nurse told her to rest and gave her an antibiotic suppository that Delphine absolutely refused to let Cosima administer. 

“You know it's not the first time I've put something in your ass,” Cosima had told her, only to get a dirty look and a closed bathroom door in her face. 

“So,” Delphine said now, “tell me what else happened today.”

“Oh! Yeah, so, interesting development. I ran into Rebecca Twell, Leda clone from Scotland.”

“Scotland?”

“I know, right?” Cosima got the list of Ledas from the desk and skimmed it for Rebecca's name. “She, uh, gave me a ride back and said we should have breakfast tomorrow.”

Delphine lowered the spoon. “Really?”

“Yeah. She said she's been looking for Julia Luiz, one of the Brazlian Ledas, too.”

“Where did you meet her?”

“Oh, I uh... I might've needed some help getting out of a ditch. She and this guy Eduardo drove by and he pulled me out. She wears glasses, too. I'll have to see if she's a lesbian.” Cosima flipped to Rebecca's name on the Europe list, but did not see Eduardo listed as a monitor or known associate.

“And you're having breakfast with her tomorrow?” Delphine asked.

“Well, if you're feeling up to it, I was hoping that we could have breakfast with her.”

* * * 

Delphine was still weak in the morning, but she felt well enough to shuffle down to the restaurant with Cosima, where she ordered green tea and plain toast. Five minutes after eight, Rebecca Twell strolled in, wearing a flowy tie-dyed skirt, sandals, and a snug T-shirt. Without the bulky rain jacket, Cosima saw that Rebecca was curvier than she was, with the rounded shoulders of a someone who sat at a desk for most of their life. Rebecca's hair was pulled into a low ponytail that reached her waist, and a lock of her hair was woven with colorful thread. Cosima had briefly wondered, yesterday, if Rebecca smoked pot, given all the other similarities she and Cosima shared. Seeing Rebecca now, she no longer wondered. 

“Good morning!” Rebecca shook Cosima's hand when she stood to greet her, and nodded at Delphine, who stayed seated.

Cosima did the introductions. “Delphine, this is Dr. Rebecca Twell. Rebecca, this is my girlfriend, Dr. Delphine Cormier.”

Rebecca smiled at them both as she sat. “And are you a doctor as well, Cosima?”

“Ah, no. Not yet. Working on it...” In truth, although Cosima had great plans to work on her dissertation during their travels, she had done almost none of it since leaving Canada. “Evolutionary developmental biology. ABD.” she said, in answer to the question she saw on Rebecca's face. 

“Oh ho!” Rebecca leaned back in her seat, eyes wide. “You might be able to lend us a hand, then, in this little mystery.”

Cosima and Delphine exchanged a small laughing glance. “Yeah, I think I probably can.”

They were interrupted as the waiter came and Rebecca ordered coffee, orange juice, plantains, and gallo pinto with two eggs. After he left, Rebecca propped her arms on the table. “And what kind of doctor are you, Dr. Cormier?”

“Please, just Delphine. Immunology, but I have experience in general and emergency medicine, as well. What about you?”

“History! I specialize in medieval europe, particularly women's experiences and stories, particularly in Scotland, as you might imagine.” The waiter brought her coffee, and she took a large drink. “Not as useful when you're looking at a biological mystery.”

Cosima shook her head and smiled. “Maybe not, but it's still a fascinating subject.” She was trying to think of how to broach the topic of clones when Delphine jumped in.

“So, Cosima tells me that you're looking for Julia Luiz? The woman from Brazil?”

“Well, it's a bit of a stretch to say that I'm looking for her,” Rebecca said, her smile slipping a bit. “I thought I saw her yesterday, but that was just your girlfriend here, stuck in a muddy ditch.”

“How do you know Julia, though?” Cosima asked. “We were looking for her in Rio, but we couldn't find her.”

“Oh? Well, I think she does a lot of traveling.” Rebecca began toying nervously with the sugar packets on the table.

“That doesn't answer my question. How do you know her?”

Rebecca set her coffee down and sighed, then looked up and stared at Cosima for a while. Cosima was used to it, or she had been. Beth had stared at her the same way when they'd met, and so had Sarah. Alison, of course, had avoided looking directly at her the first few times they met, except the time she was high as a kite. The stare didn't bother her coming from other clones. It was only when others, like Virginia Coady or Susan Duncan, stared at her that it made her squirm. 

“No, it doesn't,” Rebecca acknowledged. “I met Julia in Puerto Rico a few months ago. I met her through another woman, my friend Gabriela, who's another one, looks just like us. Gabriela met Julia years before, at some international summer program for rich kids. They're both rich.” Rebecca gestured as though that was a critical fact, and Cosima nodded along. 

Delphine got a notebook and a pen from her bag. “Gabriela?” She flipped a few pages. “Gabriela Báez? From San Juan, Puerto Rico?”

Rebecca was frowning now, and her posture was more rigid. “Maybe. How do you know that?”

Cosima recognized that face, too. That was the what the fuck is going on face both Alison and Sarah had in the early days of Clone Club, when they had known something was strange, but were starting to realize just how strange things really were. She reached across the table and lay her hand next to Rebecca's. “Listen. This is weird. I know. But you've already figured a lot of it out, by the looks of it. You know that there are people out there who look exactly like you.”

“Yeah. That doesn't explain how your girlfriend has my friend's name, and Julia's name, written in a little book. Is my name in there, too?”

Delphine looked from Cosima to Rebecca. “Uhm, no. It's, uh, it's in a separate book. This is Latin America only.”

“Latin America only?” Rebecca repeated. “So, what, I'm in the Europe book?”

“Yes.”

Cosima saw Delphine wanting to say that it was actually more of a “Europe and the Middle East” book, and she cut her off. “How many of us have you met, Rebecca? How many women who look just like you?”

“With you, three. You, Gabriela, and Julia.”

“Okay.” She tried to remember how their conversation with Sarah had gone, the first night they met, and how she had wanted it to go, before Alison blurted out, “We're clones!”

“Do you know why you all look exactly the same?” Delphine asked.

The waiter brought her food, and Rebecca picked at it for a moment before answering. “Well, my parents got IVF, and Gabi's did, too, so we figured it's something to do with that. Same donor, obviously, though we're a little surprised we got spread out so much. Especially since we're so close in age. We're only two weeks apart.”

“And Julia?” Cosima asked. “Her parents got IVF, too, right?”

Rebecca laughed at that. “She says they didn't. She says it's a divine coincidence, and IVF is against God's plan.”

Cosima smiled. She had never been religious, but she figured if anything was against God's plan, human cloning probably was. “Yeah, not every parent tells their kids the whole truth about where they come from.”

“Apparently.” Rebecca ate a few bites of her food, and Cosima followed suit before her own meal got cold. “I'm guessing your parents did IVF, too, Cosima?”

“Yeah. Yeah, they were pretty open about that. They didn't get a donor, though. Or, I should say, they didn't think they got a donor. They think I'm biologically theirs. Both of theirs.”

“And you're not?”

Cosima shook her head. She had emailed her parents from Brazil, telling them she was on a research trip in South America, but that she wanted to talk to them about something important, and inviting them to Toronto after she returned. So far, her parents hadn't replied, but it wasn't surprising. They didn't do email very much. “No,” she said. “Not biologically.”

“And I suppose, being a couple of biology people, you've actually run the genetic tests to find out.”

She nodded. “Yes. And, I've also run tests on the other, uh, the other women who look just like me. Like us.”

“How many others?”

Both Cosima and Delphine opened their mouths, but said nothing right away. “Well,” Cosima managed, “personally, I've run DNA tests, or seen the tests, anyway, on ten of us. Eleven, if I include myself.”

“Eleven?” Rebecca's eyes went wide again. “All women?”

“We were all born female. One of us is a trans man.”

“Okay. So, what, we all came from the same IVF donor, or what?”

“We all came from the same place, yes.”

Rebecca nodded, and they all ate in silence while she digested the new information. Cosima wondered how much to tell her. Dr. Rebecca Twell, historian, might be more intellectual on the surface than Krystal Goderich, for example, but Cosima knew from experience that advanced degrees did not mean more openness to reality. 

“Let me ask you something else,” Rebecca said. “Of those eleven people, was one of them a German woman named Katja something-or-other?”

Cosima's head perked up. “Yeah. Yeah, she's kind of the one we credit for finding out about all of us in the first place.”

Rebecca pushed her gallo pinto around on her plate. “She contacted me, oh, must've been two years ago now. Give or take, you know. Said something about identicals, about other women all over Europe she'd found, and some in North America, but I didn't pay any attention back then. I thought she was full of it.”

“Did she send you a picture of herself?”

“Sure she did. Bright red hair, I think she had. I never replied, just binned the email she sent. And the one after that. Then I got my new job in Glasgow, and I didn't hear from her any more.” Rebecca gave a small laugh. “I guess she was right after all. I'll have to get back in touch, tell her I was wrong.”

Cosima bit her lower lip. “I'm afraid Katja passed away, actually. Not long after she contacted you, it sounds like.”

“Oh? She couldn't've been that old, could she? What happened, if you don't mind me asking?”

Now Cosima shifted in her seat. No harm in telling the truth, she thought, since the danger that killed Katja was no longer a danger, but a doting mother of twins. “She was murdered,” Cosima said. 

“Holy hell.”

“I know. She helped us out a lot, though. She'd collected blood and hair samples from some of the other European, uh... women, like us. That's how I could do tests on them.”

“Did they know you were testing them?”

“She said they knew. Katja sent me four samples, including her own. If you'd been in contact with her, she probably would've tried getting samples from you, as well.”

“Still sounds weird.”

Cosima had to grin at that. “Yeah, you have no idea.”

“Tell me something else, though. My sister's kids, both girls, same mother and father, right? They don't look exactly the same, do they? You can tell them apart, no problem. Hell, Sophie's got blue eyes and Olivia's are brown! That's normal, though. Siblings don't usually look exactly the same unless they're identical twins. You're a biologist, you know about all that.” Cosima nodded, knowing where Rebecca was going with this. “But you and me, we look exactly the same. Okay, maybe I'm a little heavier than you, you look like you work out more than me, okay. Different hair, you're a bit more tan. But otherwise? We're the same on the outside. My friends Gabi and Julia look even more alike; they've got the same sort of body type, used to have the same hairstyle. They could switch outfits and pretend to be each other, and no one would notice until they opened their mouths because Julia's English isn't so great.”

“Yeah.” Cosima smiled at Delphine, remembering a few interesting clone swaps. 

“And yet,” Rebecca went on, “we're just all from the same IVF donor, is what you're saying. So, that means, same father, different mothers. We're half sisters, yeah?”

Cosima put down her utensils and fiddled with the edge of her napkin, wondering if now was the time to drop the clone bomb. Delphine took her hand and sqeezed it, letting her know that whichever answer she gave, Delphine was fine with it. They'd find a way to innoculate Rebecca whether she knew the truth or not. Still, Rebecca was a smart woman. The truth wouldn't hurt her, probably.

“Okay, now that worries me.” Rebecca pointed to their joined hands on the table. “That tells me you've got something maybe a little upsetting that you haven't said yet.”

Cosima sighed and nodded again. “The thing is, I didn't say we all came from the same IVF donor. I said we all came from the same place.”

In the pause that followed, Rebecca said, “You're gonna need to tell me what that means, Cosima. The same place, when we're all from different countries, different continents. So, what, we're all from outer space, or what? Aliens?”

“Uh, no.” Cosima laughed in spite of herself. “We're clones, actually. We're genetic identicals, like you suspected. Not just siblings, or half-siblings, but totally identical.”

Rebecca leaned back in her chair and nodded. “Like the sheep.”

“Like the sheep.” The thought make Cosima think of MK, but before she could dwell long, Rebecca was shaking her head.

“That's a little bit illegal, isn't it?”

“The people, the organization that created you,” Delphine said, “did not care about the legality of it. They had the resources to do it outside of legal channels. Or, perhaps better said, they had the resources to make it not matter whether it was legal or not. No one stopped them.”

“Are they still doing it? Still cloning people?”

“No.”

Around them, the restaurant was full, and a line had formed at the host station. At the table beside them, the young couple drinking mimosas kept glancing over at the mention of clones. 

“How much longer will you be in Costa Rica?” Cosima asked.

“I'm leaving Cahuita tomorrow morning,” Rebecca said. “Costa Rica the day after that.”

“Well, I'm really glad that we caught you here. Um, listen, there's something else you should know, something that's really important.”

“More important than being a clone? My goodness.”

Cosima couldn't tell from that statement if Rebecca believed she was a clone or not, but it didn't matter. “Yeah, actually, but it's related. So, since we're all identical, we all have the same genetic health risks. Some pretty serious ones, actually.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. That's actually why we have all these names written down, and why we're trying to find everyone. There's a disease that affects clones, and it's fatal if not treated, but we've got a treatment that works, and a vaccine for those who don't have symptoms yet.”

“Fatal, how? What kind of disease?”

“It's an autoimmune disease. It starts in the uterus and goes to the lungs, the kidneys... the first symptoms are usually bloody coughs, but it also means we're all sterile.”

Rebecca shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Bloody coughs, you says?”

“Yes. Do you have blood when you cough?”

“No, not usually. But Julia does. Gabi tried getting her to a doctor, but Julia, well... she doesn't care for medicine too much.”

“It's important that we see her, then,” Delphine said. “If she's already showing symptoms.” She flipped through her notebook some more until she got to Julia Luiz's page, and wrote down that what Rebecca said.

“Good luck getting her treated, though,” Rebecca said, eyeing the notebook.

“Well, we'd like to treat you, as well,” Cosima said. “Even if you're not showing symptoms, we can innoculate you so that you never do.”

Rebecca sighed. “I'll have to think about it. We've just met, after all, haven't we? I don't usually let strangers go sticking me with things unless I know who they work for. It makes me think, though. My friend Gabi, she's been trying to get pregnant for years. The clinic told her a few months ago that she's infertile. It broke her heart. Does that means she's sick? That she's dying?”

Cosima and Delphine shook their heads. “No,” Delphine said. “All of the clones are sterile, with very few exceptions. Even after the treatment, the infertility remains. I'm sorry. But, hopefully we can innoculate her against the disease, along with everyone else. To make sure she never gets sick. ”

“Well, better to be alive, I guess,” Rebecca said. She blew out a puff of air. “You know, you could've told me I was sterile a lot sooner. It would've saved me gobs of trouble with birth control. All the same... I always figured I'd get pregnant one day. Now I've got to tell my boyfriends.”

Cosima smiled at the plural boyfriends. “Obviously, you're welcome to check with your own doctor to verify.”

“How d'you know we're all sterile? You said there were very few exceptions, but everyone else is sterile? What, did you check that too, in your lab?”

The waiter came by then and dropped the check off, which Cosima paid. They gathered their things and went out into the sunny Caribbean morning. Steam rose from every surface, and they had to squint against the glare. Tourists were piling into the restaurant now, wearing variations on a beach or jungle theme, in board shorts or wrapped in towels with tree frogs proclaiming Pura Vida! The three of them walked away from the crowd, towards the edge of the road where the sign cast a wide shadow. 

“How do I know we're all sterile?” Cosima repeated. “First, I knew because every clone I knew was sterile. Katja told me that all the European clones she'd met were sterile; that's one way she knew they were all related some how. And the first two clones I met in Canada both had infertility issues. I hadn't had issues myself because, well, it never really came up.” She gave a rueful smile. “We found out later, though, that it was planned. The people who designed us never wanted us to have children. Infertility is built into our genetic code.”

“But there are exceptions, you said. Exceptions to the infertility thing, or to the disease?”

Rebecca was handling the news of being a clone remarkably well, Cosima thought. She leaned against the restaurant sign, arms crossed, watching Cosima and Delphine, but mostly Cosima, with no more than a small furrow between her eyebrows. 

“There are two exceptions we know of,” Delphine said. “Twins that were removed from the cloning process after conception but before the infertility sequence was introduced.”

The furrow between Rebecca's brows increased. “That doesn't make any sense. Your genes are set when you're conceived, not after.”

“Well, most of them are,” Cosima said. “Usually. It, um, gets a little more complicated when you're looking at clones, though, or any kind of genetic engineering. I mean, you can get gene therapies now, as an adult.”

Rebecca took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “This is getting over my head, I'm afraid.”

“It's a lot to take in,” Delphine agreed. Cosima saw her wrap her arms around her midsection, wincing.

“Give it some thought,” Cosima told Rebecca. “We'll be here all day, room 121. Drop by whenever. At least stop by before you leave, so we can give you our contact info.”

* * * 

Back in the room, Cosima logged the encounter with Rebecca while Delphine curled up on the bed. “That was damn lucky,” Cosima said. “The sheet has Rebecca still living in Edinburgh with her parents.”

“It would have been easy to find her, though.”

“Sure, but now we don't have to.”

“She could vanish. Panic after learning she's a clone, and we never see her again.”

Cosima turned in the desk chair to look at her girlfriend. “Since when are you the cynical one? I thought that was my job.”

Delphine smiled at her, eyelids dropping. “Maybe you're rubbing off on me. I don't really think she will, though. She was surprisingly open to everything we told her. I think she'll come back.”

* * *

Sure enough, Rebecca returned close to seven that evening, a laptop bag slung over one shoulder. “You mind if I Skype from here? With Gabi. I told her most of it over the phone, but I think she should see you.”

“Yeah! Yeah, definitely.” Cosima cleared a space for her on the desk, making sure that all identifying information for the other clones was hidden. Delphine climbed out of the hammock on the porch, where the daily rain fell in sheets just beyond the awning. 

A few minutes later, Gabriela Báez popped up on Rebecca's laptop screen. Gabriela was slender, approaching skinny, with a blonde-highlighted suburban bob that made Cosima think of Alison and Krystal at the same time. Rebecca made the introductions in English, and Gabriela leaned forward to inspect Cosima's face, rubbing her upper lip as she did. “Hmm....” she said. “You're a scientist?” 

“Uh, yes. Working on my PhD right now.”

Gabriela nodded, then gestured to Delphine lingering in the background. “And that's your girlfriend?”

“Yes. She's an immunologist. She's been doing most of the innoculations and treatments so far.” Cosima wrapped her arm around Delphine's waist and pulled her closer. 

“You're a lesbian, then?” Gabriela asked.

“Yes.”

Gabriela shook her head, and Cosima steeled herself for a homophobic comment or two, but instead Gabriela turned to Rebecca and said, “Do not tell Julia. She'll run away and never come back.”

On the chair beside Cosima, Rebecca laughed. “Oh, lordy, she would.” Turning to Cosima, she explained, “Julia's a little, eh, conservative in her world views. When you do meet her, don't be surprised when she tries to save your soul for Jesus.”

“If you really can treat that bloody cough of her, though,” Gabriela went on, “the best way to find her is through her church. I'm serious. Act like you want to convert, she'll do anything for you.” Gabriela's English was almost native-like, Cosima thought. Without knowing where she was from, she might have thought Gabriela was Canadian, or an English woman who spent a lot of time in the States.

“That's good to know,” Delphine said. “And we do have a cure. For her, for you, for everyone.”

Gabriela kept rubbing her upper lip, tapping her desk or table with her other hand. Behind her, the room was bright yellow, decorated with miniature paintings along the wall. “Well, I guess now's as a good a time as any to tell you, Beck; I went to see my doctor yesterday.”

Rebecca leaned forward. “You did? You're not sick, though, are you?”

“I'm not coughing up blood, no. But I was feeling a little short of breath at the gym last week, for a few days in a row, so I went in, thinking of Julia, of course. He listened to me breathe for a while, and he's a little worried. Wants me to come in for tests in a few days.”

“Fuck, Gabi.” Rebecca dropped her head into her hands. 

Cosima squeezed in closer to the screen. “Um, Gabi? I know we've, like, just met, but that sounds a lot like the first symptoms of the disease. Would you mind if we came up to look you over? We can make sure the disease never progresses farther than this.”

Gabriela looked down, then nodded. “Sure.”

“So, what?” Rebecca said, “You think I should get the shot, too, then?”

With a sigh, Gabriela looked back up at her. “That's up to you. I just know that Rodrigo is worried about me.”

“Didn't you say Rodrigo's been acting a little strangely recently, though?” Rebecca said. While they spoke, Cosima pulled herself away long enough to discretely check Gabriela's page in their notebook. Sure enough, Rodrigo, assuming it was the same man, had been Gabriela's monitor for seven years, and they'd been married for four.

“Yes, he's been stuck to the internet for months. I'm getting used to it.”

“What kind of stuff is he looking up on the internet?” Cosima asked. “Do you know?”

“Sure I know. He's on these news sites, looking at these big companies falling apart with scandals. He's really into the ones whose CEOs have mysteriously died recently.”

“Like Dyad?” Delphine asked. 

“It sounds familiar.”

Meanwhile, Rebecca leaned the chair back on it's hind legs and rubbed her arms. “Okay, well, if you and Rodrigo think this treatment is a good idea, maybe I'll get it. What are the side effects?”

Cosima chimed in the answer. “Light fever is the most common. Some people get dizzy for a day or so afterwards. That's for the vaccine, which it sounds like you would need. If the disease has already manifested with symptoms, the treatment's a little more involved.” She turned to face Gabriela directly. “Hey, um, this is gonna sounds really unpleasant, but can you maybe get your doctor to do a uterine biopsy in the next couple of days? You might not feel anything now, but if you're already short of breath like this, you probably have polyps in your uterus, too, and that's where we'll need to administer your treatment.”

Gabriela shifted in her chair. “It's in the uterus, too?”

“I'm afraid so, yeah.”

“That explains that, then.” Gabriela seemed to be talking to herself, so no one responded. 

Delphine picked up the notebook with Gabriela's page open and asked when they could see her in San Juan. A few minutes later, they had it all arranged, and Gabriela signed off of Skype. Rebecca still held her forehead in her hands. 

“A vaccine, huh?” she said.

Delphine nodded. “Yes. We can give it to you now, if you'd like.”

Cosima sat on the armchair, leaning towards Rebecca. “It's scary, I know, but trust me, the vaccine's a lot easier than dealing with treatment once you get sick. And without the vaccine, you probably will get sick, we just don't know when.”

“And you've gotten it yourself, then? This vaccine?”

“No. I was pretty sick by the time we got a cure, so I had to have a bunch of treatments. Trust me, the vaccine's easier.”

Rebecca rubbed her forehead. “You were sick. Julia's sick now. Gabi says she might be sick. Christ. And we're all clones.”

Quietly, Delphine moved around her to her medical case near the sliding door. She pulled out a vial of innoculate and a syringe, and set them down on the desk without a word. Rebecca eyeballed them. “Just one?” she asked.

“Just one. In your upper arm.”

Rebecca blew out a loud breath and swore. “What the hell.” Rolling up her sleeve, she closed her eyes. “Just don't tell me what you're doing. I try not to think about needles when they're going in me.”

Smiling now, Delphine put on her gloves, cleaned the site on her arm, and injected the vaccine into Rebeeca's left deltoid. Rebecca hissed and swore in what might have been Gaelic, then shook herself all over once Delphine said it was over.

Fifteen minutes later, after Rebecca left, Delphine perched on the arm of the chair where Cosima sat looking at their list of Ledas, and handed her a green highlighter. “That went well, I think.”

Cosima grinned. “Yeah. Thank God for Gabriela; I wasn't sure we'd get Rebecca on board before.”

“I've already booked the flight for San Juan, the day after tomorrow.”

“Why not tomorrow?”

“I thought we should look some more for Erika Maria Santos while we're here. And besides, we still haven't done that sunrise breakfast on the beach you promised me.”

Cosima giggled and nuzzled Delphine's chest. “That's because someone decided it was a better idea to be sick for three days right after we got here.” She slid a hand up Delphine's shirt and tickled her stomach, careful to avoid her scar, which she knew had been aggrivated by all the heaving Delphine's abdominal muscles had been doing recently. “You're feeling better, though?”

“Much.”

“Good.” She let her lips linger on Delphine's jaw for several moments. “Because after sunrise breakfast on the beach, I might have some plans for us that do not involved anyone else, at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Translations of the Spanish:  
> Venga = come (here)  
> Muchas gracias = thank you very much  
> De nada = no worries  
> Te lo dije = I told you (side note: When I was in Costa Rica, people used 'usted' almost exclusively, but I don't remember the object pronoun, so I used 'te' instead)  
> No es Julia = It's not Julia  
> Sí, lo veo = Yes, I see that
> 
> 2) While I have been to Cahuita, I never went to the clinic there, so the representation here shouldn't be taken as based on reality.


	4. Erika Maria Santos

On their third morning in San Juan, Puerto Rico, around four o'clock, Delphine's phone rang. It was set to receive calls and texts from anywhere in Latin America, and the number calling was Costa Rican. 

“Sí, hola?” Delphine said, pushing her hand through her hair and squinting at the sudden light as Cosima switched on a lamp. Her Spanish was good, but she preferred to have a little more warning before embarking on a conversation. 

The woman on the other end said she was Marta, a bartender from Cahuita who'd gotten Delphine's number from Cosima several days earlier, when they were looking for Erika Maria Santos. Erika Maria, Marta told her, was in the hospital, and the prognosis was not good. 

“Your friend, she said she was Erika's sister,” Marta said. 

“Sí,” Delphine said, still reeling from sleep. “Sí, gracias.” She got the name of the hospital and confirmed that Marta was calling from her own personal phone and could receive calls. “One more thing,” Delphine said. “Does Erika know we're coming? Does she know about Cosima?”

It had been tricky figuring out how exactly to present themselves to all of the unaware Ledas. For those not presenting symptoms, it was simpler because they didn't have to rush. First, they got in touch with their medical providers and explained that they were conducting research on women with certain characteristics, and provided a financial incentive to women who participated. They were as specific as possible without identifying individuals, but in addition to the Ledas, they still ended up with a number of non-Leda women getting placebo injections, some money, and a pleasant smile from Dr. Cormier. It didn't catch nearly as many Ledas as they'd hoped, though, so they moved onto other tactics. They stalked the Ledas' social media sites, looking for signs of symptoms, and tried talking to friends and family members. If the Leda had a job that made them available to the public, like saleswoman or waitress, either Cosima or Delphine tried observing them that way, to determine the best ways of making contact. It was not so different from Delphine's early days as a Dyad monitor, a fact not lost on either of them. Of course, no matter how hard they tried, some of the clones were slipping through their fingers. In cases like Erika Maria Santos, slipping through could mean dying. 

So, on the search for Erika Maria Santos, they had told everyone that Cosima was her long-lost sister. It wasn't wrong, and it was likely to get people's attention.

“No,” Marta said. “She's been unconscious since they brought her in. You're the only people I know to contact. She....” Marta's voice broke. “She needs to have her family here. In case... in case...”

“I know,” Delphine whispered. “We're on our way. Thank you.”

Beside her, Cosima sat up and yawned. “Lemme guess. We're going back to Costa Rica?”

“Sí,” Delphine said, forgetting her English for a moment. “To Limon. She's in hospital there.”

“Oh shit. Okay.” With that, Cosima was up and out of bed, turning on lights and gathering belongings even as she made her way to the bathroom. 

* * * 

“Out of curiosity,” Cosima asked, “how much did this flight cost?”

“All together? Just over $1,400 for us both.” 

“Shit.” Their tickets from Toronto to Cartagena had been less than that. Cosima settled into her seat on the Copa Airlines flight Delphine had booked a few hours prior. She'd packed their bags while Delphine handled the travel arrangements, putting everything onto the debit card linked through the Sadler and Daughters Foundation, funded by Rachel Duncan. Cosima decided not to ask how much their bus trip from San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, to Limon would cost, or the last minute hotel room. Their trip to San Juan had been last minute, too, but not nearly as close to the wire as this.

“We don't know how much time she has,” Delphine said softly. “It's worth the extra money.”

“Oh, no question. We're lucky we could even get a flight this early. And sitting together, too!” She tucked her hand into the side pocket of Delphine's pants and peered out the window at the lightening sky over Puerto Rico. “Too bad we couldn't get a direct flight, though. That's my only complaint.”

Delphine kissed her temple, knowing the complaint was minor, but that they would be exhausted by the time they reached Limon that evening. “Try to rest. We'll have to run once we get to Panama City for the layover.”

* * * 

Cosima didn't remember falling asleep, but then Delphine was nudging her awake, and she found herself tucked against Delphine, her legs cramped and her chin damp with drool. “Mmpph,” she said. 

“I know. Come on.”

Delphine wasn't wrong about needing to run in Panama City, either. Their layover was all of fifty-five minutes long, not even giving them enough time to use the bathroom between finding the connecting terminal and fighting through other travelers. Once they got to their gate, they had to stand in line behind gaggles of enthusiastic English-speaking young people with bulging hiking packs and loud voices which, in a more charitable mood, would have reminded Cosima of herself ten years earlier. Behind them, a family squabbled in Spanish while their toddler played a video on a phone with the speaker on. Cosima put both hands on top of her head and took a deep breath.

_Erika Maria Santos is dying,_ she reminded herself. _Her lungs are filled with blood, her kidneys have stopped working, and she's been unconscious for... how long now? Too long. She's dying._ With that focus, it was a little harder to be upset by her fellow travelers. Just a little.

Delphine, meanwhile, took it all in stride. When they'd exited their last plane, Delphine had set a pace to their next terminal that nearly left Cosima in the dust, but now Delphine had settled into a practiced, empty state of indifference. Her face was blank, her posture relaxed, and her eyes fixed on some point in the middle distance. For all Cosima knew, Delphine had fallen asleep with her eyes open, and even the sudden scream of the toddler or burst of laughter from the college kids did nothing to rouse her. Cosima had a feeling that pinching her would get a reaction, but it was neither the time nor the place for that sort of brattiness.

To keep herself sane and her hands to herself, Cosima pulled out her cell phone and took it off airplane mode. A few seconds later, a string of messages from Sarah popped up, starting almost an hour prior.

_These kids are driving me fucking nuts._  
I'm going to kill them.  
Srsly.  
Alison's useless.  
Felix is gone.  
Send help. 

Despite herself, Cosima laughed. Sarah had custody of Charlotte for the summer, since the arrangement with Art and his ex-wife had run its course. Charlotte was a great kid, but it still meant that Sarah had two prepubescent girls under her roof. She remembered driving her own parents crazy at that age when they'd spent weeks out to sea together, and there'd only been one Cosima.

_You'll be fine, she texted back. Put them outside if you have to._

Five minutes later, the line began inching forward, and Sarah replied. _Fuck that. I'm going to kill both of them._

_Don't. Skype later? Flight's right now._

Before she got a response, the check-in line picked up, and she and Delphine shuffled onto the plane back to Costa Rica. 

 

* * * 

 

Twelve hours later, they finally collapsed onto a hotel bed in Limon, their luggage dropped carelessly at the foot of the bed, medical equipment set a bit more carefully upon the luggage rack. 

“Tomorrow's better,” Cosima murmured. “Fuck today.”

Delphine didn't respond, but turned her head to look at Cosima. They'd visited Erika Maria Santos in the hospital, long enough to determine that she was stable and for Delphine to show the staff her medical credentials. They would return the next day to begin treatment. 

“I don't think the doctor had any idea what you were saying there towards the end,” Cosima said. “I think half of it was in French.”

“Probably.” Delphine couldn't remember what she'd said, either, but it was enough to convince the doctors to let her come back tomorrow. Rolling over, she scooted towards Cosima and wrapped an arm and a leg around her. “I was hoping we could begin treatment today, though.”

Cosima dropped a light kiss onto her nose. “Yeah, but if you’re too tired to figure out how your phone works, you probably shouldn't be sticking needles in someone's uterus.”

“Mmmf.” When she closed her eyes, Delphine saw Erika Maria on her hospital bed, hooked up to a nasal cannula, heart monitor, neural electrodes, and kidney dialysis. The yellowish tinge on her skin indicated liver problems, as well. The only other patient she'd seen with such an advanced case had been Jennifer Fitzsimmons. At least Erika Maria hadn't her lost her hair; it lay in dark, matted clumps around her head and shoulders. She wore traces of makeup that no one had bothered to wash off since her arrival. She could have been Cosima. 

That was the thought Delphine couldn't shake. It could have been Cosima dying there, her body turning violently against her, her family more than a country away. _No,_ she thought, _Cosima would have had her family there, just not her parents. Her sisters would have been there. Siobhan would've been there._ She tightened her arm around Cosima's midsection and pressed her face into the crook of her neck. Cosima smelled like stale sweat and public bathroom soap, but that was all she smelled like. There was no blood, no bile, no hospital sanitation odors to be found. A moment later, Cosima shifted and took a deep, untroubled breath, and Delphine sighed against her skin. 

“Are you gonna fall asleep like that?” Cosima asked.

“Maybe.”

A silent laugh shook Cosima's body. “You'll be uncomfortable when you wake up.” She reached a hand around to unhook Delphine's bra through her shirt, then wiggled her hand under Delphine's twisted torso to undo her belt, rather a more difficult feat from this angle. “Come on, roll over. Let's get you undressed.”

Delphine smirked as she rolled onto her back. “If that's your idea of a come on...”

In response, Cosima reached up under Delphine's shirt and pinched the underside of her right breast, making her squeak and jerk up from the bed. With a pretend scowl, Delphine propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at Cosima, who gave her a pointy smile from her position above Delphine's hips. 

“You look a little more awake now,” Cosima commented, unfastening Delphine's pants and tugging down a bit to kiss her right above her pubic hair, then dropping light kisses up to her navel. Delphine whined and fell back onto her back. 

“Barely.” She stroked her hand over Cosima's hair. She wanted to undo the bun Cosima'd had her dreads in all day, but she lacked the energy. If Cosima tried going down on her now, she would probably just fall asleep. 

Luckily, Cosima saw the same eventuality. Nudging Delphine to raise her hips, she pulled Delphine's pants down and off, and folded them neatly beside their suitcase. She needed more help to get Delphine's shirt off, but within a few minutes she had Delphine in nothing but her underwear. Once her work was done, she sat several inches away, looking down at her with that side smile of hers. Delphine tried meeting her eyes, but her eyelids kept closing. Soon, Cosima was tucked a blanket up around her shoulders, though Delphine didn't remember getting under the covers. 

“You'll be here in the morning,” Delphine murmured. 

“Yes, I will, love.” Cosima kissed her and stroked her cheek. “I promise.”

* * * 

They gave Erika Maria the first treatment early the next day. She had woken up long enough to be introduced to Delphine and to consent to the treatment. Her friend Marta was there for part of the day, holding her hand and reading to her from a trashy romance novel they both loved, while Delphine and Cosima sat nearby and monitored her progress.

“Will she be okay?” Marta asked.

“Sí,” Delphine assured her. “The treatment's had a 100% success rate so far.”

As a scientist, Cosima worried about claiming such a high rate, but she knew it was true. After all, the only two subjects who'd been treated after showing serious symptoms were her and Charlotte, and they were both fully recovered. Thinking of Charlotte reminded her of Sarah's text the morning prior. Once she and Delphine made sure Erika Maria wasn't having any immediate reactions to the treatment, they headed out into the city, and Cosima texted Sarah back. 

_Skype tonight?_

Sarah replied much later in the day, after Cosima and Delphine had strolled through most of the town and bought a few souvenirs to send back to Toronto. _YES,_ Sarah said. _Please._

“Uh oh.”

Delphine looked back at her from the rack of skirts she was looking at. “What's the matter?” 

“Sarah's struggling with the girls. I'll Skype with her tonight.”

“Mmm. Sarah's not used to being a full-time mother.” She turned back to look at the skirts, so Cosima couldn't see her face, but her tone was neutral.

“I guess not. She's doing her best, though. Probably doing better than I would be in her position.”

“Did she get the presents you sent?”

“I guess so. She didn't say.” Charlotte's birthday had been a week earlier, and Cosima had sent her a small gift from Brazil as well as a large rock collection from an online science store. It was Charlotte's first birthday with her clone family, and Cosima felt bad being away for it. The least she could do was send her a nice birthday present.

That night, Delphine settled onto a chair on their third-floor hotel balcony with a novel and Cosima's shawl wrapped around her shoulders while Cosima Skyped her sister back in Canada. While she waited for Sarah to answer, Cosima watched Delphine stretch and prop her slender feet onto the rain-spattered-railing. 

The computer blooped and bleeped, and Sarah's face appeared on the screen. “Hey, Cos. What country are you in now?” 

“Costa Rica. We've been bouncing around a lot recently, though.”

“Recently?” Sarah asked. “Since you left Canada you've been bouncing around a lot. You and Delphine aren't sick of each other yet, are you?”

“No.” She glanced back at her girlfriend on the balcony and smiled. “No, I don't think we're in much danger of that right now. Still very much in love.”

“Good.” Sarah sighed and leaned back in her chair. She was sitting in the kitchen of her house, and behind her Cosima saw the drawings from the girls, mostly Kira, she suspected, on the refrigerator. “How's everything else?” she asked. “You curing a lot of sisters?”

“Yup. Eleven vaccinations, one treatment. The girl we saw today was in pretty bad shape. Worse than I was, but she'll be okay now.”

“You're saving lives out there, Cos.”

“Yeah.” Cosima grinned at that. “Yeah, we are. But tell me what's going on with you.”

Sarah pushed her hands through her hair and looked past the laptop, then shook her head. Dropping her voice a bit, she said, “Charlotte's not doing well.”

“No? What's wrong?”

“I dunno. Hormone stuff, maybe, but I think it could be more than that. Kira's being a little brat, too, so that's not helping.”

Cosima nodded sympathetically. Kira was nine now, nudging up into puberty, and Cosima suspected that some of the hormone treatments she'd gotten at Dyad still had lingering effects. Charlotte was eleven. Just before they left, Art told them that Charlotte had started her period, but she didn't want anyone to know about it. Cosima remembered well how she'd felt at that age, when a slight correction from her mother could send her running away sobbing and slamming doors.

“Thanks for the presents, by the way,” Sarah went on, but Cosima caught a note of something other than gratitude in her voice.

“Did Charlotte like them?”

“Well, she liked the wooden puzzle thing and the map of the Amazon.”

There was a pause, so Cosima prompted, “and the rock collection?”

Sarah sighed again. “When she opened that, she ran up to her room crying and didn't come down for the rest of the day.”

“Oh, shit.” As soon as she heard that, it made sense. Charlotte had loved her rock collection on the island, when Cosima first met her and she was living with Susan Duncan, but she wasn't able to bring it with her when they left. The gift had been meant as a replacement, but now Cosima could see that it was a reminder of what Charlotte had lost. 

“Yeah, I dunno. She hasn't looked at it since. I thought about sending it back, but I figured I'd talk to you about it first.”

“Don't send it back. Give her a little time. Maybe put it somewhere she can't see it, but she knows where it is. If she doesn't want it in a couple of months, we'll find someone else who does. It's okay.”

“Yeah.” Sarah smirked then. “Maybe I'll give it to Helena. She can give the boys fancy rocks to play with instead of regular ones.”

“There you go. Great plan.”

Sarah picked up a mug and looked into its depths before speaking again. “Charlotte wants to live with you. She's said that a couple of times. She's gotten Kira saying that she wants to live with you, too, a couple times.”

“Really?” Cosima looked around the hotel room. It was nice, though not as nice as the price would suggest, and small. When they showered, the entire bathroom floor got wet no matter how careful they were, but it did have a nice heated towel rack. Regardless, it was a fine room for a pair of love-struck scientists on a mission, not for an eleven-year-old. “Charlotte knows that Delphine and I aren't really _living_ anywhere right now, right?”

“Oh, yeah, she knows. She wants to be out traveling with you two, instead of stuck here, going to middle school orientation next week.”

“Well, yeah, I mean, nobody likes middle school. She's got a lot to be nervous about.”

“She doesn't have to yell at me about it, though.”

Charlotte yelling was a difficult picture to imagine, but she took Sarah's word for it. “Maybe we can Skype with her. We're heading back to Brazil tomorrow afternoon, so maybe the day after that?”

“Sounds good to me.”

After closing Skype, Cosima stepped out onto the balcony. “¿Todo bien?” Delphine asked.

“Mmm... Charlotte says she wants to come traveling with us.”

“Please don't tell me you told her yes.”

Leaning against the railing, Cosima took Delphine's big toe between her thumb and forefinger and gently wiggled it. Delphine's feet were just as graceful as her hands; she was the only woman whose toes Cosima enjoyed sucking on. “I did not. Don't worry. I would be happy to have her once we've settled down and cured everybody, but until then...” She shook her head. “Not a good idea.”

“No, it's not.” Delphine closed her novel and set it in her lap as Cosima moved on to wiggle each of her toes in turn, then ran her thumb up the sole of each foot, firmly enough not to tickle. 

“Whatcha thinkin' about?” Cosima asked. 

“After we've cured everyone. What we'll do then.”

“Yeah?” Cosima moved her hand to Delphine's ankle, stroking the tendon above her heel up to the lower part of her calf. Delphine was wearing a long flowy skirt, and in this position, Cosima could reach over and reveal most of Delphine's legs with just a flick of her hand. She held back, for now. “What about that?”

She propped her head in her hand and watched Cosima play with her feet some more before answering. “We'll have to get real jobs. Every time I start working on my CV, it's gets too complicated, so I stop.”

_Real jobs._ Cosima had not thought about getting a real job since she left Dyad. Staying alive, finding a cure, finding Delphine, and caring for her sisters had always been more important. She didn't really want to start thinking about it now, either, so she slid her hand farther along Delphine's calf. “We've got time later to worry about that. 

“Yes, I know.” Delphine sucked her lower lip in between her teeth and worked on it for a moment. “We could live together,” she said.

Even just hearing her say those words made Cosima's heart melt. A smile spreading across her face, she said, “We could. I was kind of hoping that we would, actually. I don't know where we'll be, but I want us to be together.” 

Delphine's large dark eyes softened, and she took her feet from the damp railing to lean towards Cosima. Taking her by the waist, she tilted her head up to kiss her, then pulled her down into her lap. Cosima pushed her fingers through Delphine's still-damp curls and tasted the residue of the beer they'd had with dinner on Delphine's tongue. “Come on,” she whispered, “there's a bed inside that's a lot more comfortable than this chair.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would like to contribute a chapter, a clone, a Cophine adventure to this fic, please let us know.  
> You can send us a private message on Tumblr or Twitter (@FrenchClone), and we will discuss the details and help you if you want. You don’t need to be an experienced writer, you don’t need to be a native English speaker, you just have to be a member of the Clone Club; this is for the journey, together.
> 
> Welcome to the trip!
> 
>  
> 
> _These chapters are continued by[ce_ucumatli](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ce_ucumatli/pseuds/ce_ucumatli) over [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13525500/chapters/31026174)_


	5. Monica Smith & Alex Williams

Cosima knew she needed to be careful every time she and Delphine visited a new sestra. An agreement was made prior to their trip that Cosima would not be interacting with any of the clones. It was best to leave them in the dark about Clone Club and not send them down the rabbit hole like the self-aware clones had been. There had been quite a few times where Cosima almost blew their plan, mainly due to her curiosity regarding the many Leda sisters. She loved to quietly observe her sisters from afar. How can they all be so similar yet so different? Nature vs. nurture, Cosima obviously knew this but it still was just so hard to believe even after seeing so many women with her same face. 

Delphine had spent the last 24 hours contacting the doctors associated with the Australian clones, she wanted a very clear idea on how far any one of the Leda’s illnesses had progressed. The flight to Brisbane had been quite uneventful, both women admittedly very jetlagged from the change in time zones. Cosima and Delphine took turns telling each other of stories from fond memories from childhood. As much as they both loved the science and the curing mission for the Leda sisters, it was nice to just relax together and not discuss the important tasks at hand. The plan was to hit Brisbane, then Sydney, followed by Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. 

The first Australian Leda sister was a nurse at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. Monica Smith was a very health conscious woman, growing up with parents who were also nurses. She usually wore her straight brown hair in a loose ponytail or bun accompanied by her work scrubs or a jogging outfit. She lived a modest lifestyle in a comfortable 2 bedroom house with her husband Taylor and their adopted son Andy. She had always wanted children and was devastated when she learned she couldn’t have her own. Monica decided to go ahead with adopting Andy soon after meeting the young boy. She was an avid runner and loved spending time outdoors with her little family. It was a normal day, like any other, she’d get up make breakfast and then go for a jog along the river trail with Andy in his stroller. She began feeling lightheaded and was unable to breathe normally. She called Taylor who immediately rushed her to the hospital. It was their that the scans showed a few small polyps forming on her lungs. With the doctors unsure of their cause or how to proceed they sent Monica to a specialist who unknowingly was a Dyad plant. But as the months went on Monica only had the name of her disease to go by and there was little information available about it. She could feel her body giving out and quit her job to spend time with her family, it was one faithful day at the beach that her life changed forever.

On the other side of the continent in Perth lived a marine biologist named Alex Williams. She was an avid surfer and won a few awards in competitions as a teenager. She kept her shoulder length bleached blonde hair in a tight braid to keep it out of the way. She spent as much time in and around the water as possible. Her job took her all around the coast of Australia and her next assignment was to study the coastal waters just outside of Brisbane. Her trip was like many others before, long hours on a boat pinging acoustic tags of the sharks she had been tracking, followed by dinner and late nights full of paperwork. She had a few days off to spend however she pleased, which of course meant grabbing her surfboard and heading out to find the best waves in the area. On the first day the surf was decent and she got a few good hours in before returning to shore. Upon making it back to the beach, she spotted a little boy playing in the sand with a young woman who had a very familiar face.

Alex stood at the water’s edge unsure of what was happening. “Who was this woman and why does she look like me? Should I go say something to her?” Alex pondered the thought for a moment, but before she could make a decision Monica looked down the beach and spotted her. Monica’s mouth immediately went agape. They stared at each other for a few moments trying to see what the other would do. Alex picked up her surfboard from the sand and began to approach the other woman. 

“Hey, I know this is really weird and I am not quite sure how it's possible but it looks like we could be twins.” Alex paused, hoping she wasn’t going to scare the other woman away.   
Monica stifled a cough before replying, “You’re telling me, this is strange and i'm not sure how to even react to this.”

“I get that, I was about to run in the opposite direction before you looked over at me. Do you mind if I sit?” Alex gestured to a random spot in the sand a few feet away.

“No, go ahead. I’m Monica, by the way. And this is my son Andy.” Andy perked up at hearing his name. He looked between the two women in front of him, and became immediately confused. 

“Mum?” His voice was very shaky, and unsure. “It’s okay baby, come here.” Monica tried to reassure her son, even though she herself felt awkward and uneasy in the presence of this woman.

“Hi Andy, my name is Alex. That is a cool toy shark you have there.” Andy buried his head in his mother's neck trying to hide from the strange lady.”

“Do you really think we could be twins? I mean I was adopted and have no information on my biological parents.” Monica offered what little information she had. 

“I was adopted too. What day were you born?” Alex figured that was the most logical question to ask.

“October 12th, 1984. What’s yours?”

“October 12th, 1984.” Monica’s mouth went agape again. Could they really be twins?

\---

Cosima and Delphine got off the plane and headed to their chosen hotel by Alison and then decided to head to the beach since they hadn’t really had time to spend relaxing on their trips. Delphine had scheduled an appointment with Monica for the following day. Delphine and Cosima wandered down the beach for a while just enjoying the surf between their toes. Cosima decided to find a place to lay out their towels. She scanned the bit of beach in front of her, before her eyes settled on two women and a little boy sitting in the sand. “We may have a problem, Delphine.”

Delphine looked at Cosima with a worried look on her face. “What’s wrong, are you feeling okay, mon amour?” 

“Yes, yes I am fine but take a look about 100 yards down the beach and you will see the problem.”

Delphine’s eyes wandered to the area that Cosima directed her to look. “Merde.”

“Um, yeah see what I mean?”

“When did this happen? We weren’t aware that any other clones were in contact.”

“I don’t know, maybe they hid it? Or maybe it was recent, because Dyad doesn’t exist anymore, they aren’t being monitored. Which is a good thing don’t get me wrong. This was bound to happen sooner or later.” Cosima shrugged her shoulders.

“How should we proceed?”

“We should wait and observe their interaction for a bit before making any plans.”

Cosima and Delphine positioned themselves strategically down the beach so they wouldn’t be spotted but could still watch the Leda’s.”

“I think I have an idea which two these are. Monica Smith lives here in Brisbane, and Alex Williams from Perth. They fit the Dyad profiles that Rachel gave us. The profiles say that these two happen to share the same birthday but were from different surrogates.” Delphine offered the files from her bag for Cosima to scan over.

“They seem awkward with their body language, and don’t really look at each other when talking. Seems odd.”

“You and your sisters back home are very comfortable around each other, it takes time to get to that.”

“Oh, believe me, I know. When I first met Beth and Alison, it was uncomfortable to say the least.”

“You don’t think they just met, do you?”

“It’s starting to seem like that, the longer I watch them.” Cosima spent so much time clone watching and just people watching in general over the last few weeks that she felt more aware of body language and how to gauge one’s mood. “What should we do?”

Delphine pondered the question for a moment. “Maybe I should go have a chat with them and try to figure out what they know.” 

“If you think that’s a good idea, then go for it.”

Delphine got up from her spot on the beach and walked casually down by the water.

She came within a few feet of the Leda’s and as nonchalantly as possible said “Beautiful day we are having, don’t you agree?” She looked down at the women in the sand and waited expectantly for a response. Hearing Delphine’s question broke both Monica and Alex from their thought’s. 

Alex looked up at the beautiful woman in front of her, drawn in by the accent of her voice. “Sure is.”

Monica just nodded in agreement.

“I’m on vacation and was wondering if either of you knew a good place to eat in the area?”

Alex, shrugged. “Sorry, I can’t help much. I’m not from here either, I’m from Perth.”

Monica mentioned a nice restaurant nearby, before returning her gaze to the ocean in front of her. 

Alex was curious about the gorgeous French woman, “The name’s Alex Williams, if you are here alone, I wouldn’t be opposed to accompanying you to that restaurant.”

Delphine smiled at the offer, but gently shook her head, “My name is Dr. Delphine Cormier, and unfortunately I am here with someone, so I will have to decline your offer. Thank you though.”

Monica had a confused look reappear on her face. “Did you say Dr. Cormier?”

Delphine silently cursed to herself over the critical error she made. She completely forgot that she had scheduled the appointment with Monica the next day.

“Oui, that is I.”

“I have an appointment with a foreign doctor by that name tomorrow. If that is you this is a really weird coincidence.”

“Would your last name happen to be Smith?” Delphine tried to play the situation off as happenstance.

“Yes”

“Then I do believe, I am your doctor, yes.” Delphine realized there was no going back now. She knew she’d have to administer the cure to both Leda’s at some point so there is no reason to hide her identity now. Should she continue to play dumb about the clone aspect of this or just ask them?

“Is this your twin?” 

“I'm not sure. We only just met.” Monica felt increasingly stranger throughout the conversations from the last few hours. 

“Oh, well isn’t that interesting.”

“Yeah, I spotted her on the beach maybe 2 hours ago and we kind of just been talking since then.” Alex offered.

“Will you two still be here for a little while? I have to go check on my girlfriend. I've been gone a little too long for her liking. I’d love to talk to you too more.”

Alex looked disappointed at the mention of Delphine’s girlfriend but said “Yeah, I've got nothing better to do.”

Monica just nodded in agreement.

Delphine hurried back to the spot Cosima was watching from. 

“So what do they know?” Cosima eagerly waited for a response.

“Doesn’t seem like they know anything, they said they just met a few hours ago.”

“Woah.”

“Yes. Monica recognized my name as the doctor treating her tomorrow.”

“Do you think it would be a good idea to just tell them the truth? They are going to have a lot of questions either way, because you have treat them both eventually.”

“I guess so. We should leave out a lot of the more gruesome details.” 

“Yeah, you are right. Just give them the bare minimum information.” Cosima stared down the beach and watched the little boy play with shark toy in a puddle. “Time to meet to more of my   
sister's, huh?”

“This will be interesting.”

Delphine and Cosima cleaned up their beach supplies rather quickly before they lost their nerve. Cosima hesitated for a moment, and looked at her girlfriend. “I love you, you know that?” 

“Et je t’aime.” Delphine leaned down to place a quick kiss on Cosima’s cheek.

“Well here goes nothing.”

Delphine and Cosima walked hand in hand down the beach. 

“Alex, Monica, this is my girlfriend Cosima.”

“Hi, I think we have a lot to talk about.” Cosima smiled softly as she spoke.

Alex and Monica were awestruck in both confusion and curiosity and both managed only to nod in response.

Cosima and Delphine sat down in the sand near the two clones and the little boy, who jumped into his mother's arms once again when he realized there was another lady that looked like his mum.

“Well you two probably have a lot of questions and we will try to answer them, the best we can.” Delphine added.

“Are we triplets or something?” Alex asked as she studied Cosima’s unique look.

“Not quite, the correct term would be genetic identicals. You see, about 30 or so years ago a group of scientists felt like it was a good idea to try and well essentially clone human beings. They managed to successfully do it and here we are now.” Cosima waited.

All the color from Monica’s face disappeared at the mention of the word clone. “C-c-c-clones? How is that even possible?” Monica stammered.

“With the right resources they were able to make it happen.”

“How long have you known about this? Us?” Alex found herself more intrigued by the two foreign women that seemed to know so much about the situation.

“I've known that I was a clone for a few years now, but i've only recently found out about you two.” Cosima responded.

“How did you find out that you were a clone?” The scientist in Alex was now eager to learn all she could about their situation.

“I was contacted by one of our sisters who filled me in. It was definitely surreal at first. I don’t want to overwhelm you all this information, stop me if this gets to be too much to take in.” Cosima was pleased to see Alex’s curiosity, but she could tell Monica was taking the news a little differently than her sister.”

“One of our sisters? Just how many of us are there?” The thought of a bunch of women who looked just like her made Monica dizzy and anxious.

“Are you sure you want to know the answer to that?” Cosima was hesitant to reveal the actual number, it could affect so many more lives than just these few select people.

“On second thought, no I don’t. This is just too much to deal with.” Monica began to have a coughing fit, just like the ones Cosima used to have.

Cosima reached her arm over and gently placed it on Monica’s shoulder. “Hey, just take a deep breath okay? I used to cough like this all the time. It will stop in a minute.”

Monica tried to steady her breathing and looked at the hand placed on her shoulder. “Were you sick with whatever this disease is?”

“Yes, I had exactly what you have and that is why we are here. We have a cure, and we hope the administer it to both of you.”

Alex looked confused at the mention of this illness, as she felt fine. “What are you talking about?”

“The clones are predisposed to a disease that was an unintended side effect of the cloning process.” Delphine finally spoke up, after having taken a backseat to Cosima’s explaining of the situation.

“The symptoms come on very suddenly and progress rapidly. Even if you feel fine now, you could feel horrible in just a few weeks. We have a vaccination that counteracts the disease process.”

“Okay, so is this what I'll be getting at my appointment tomorrow?” Monica had her eyes trained on her son, starting to feel hopeful that she will be able to see him grow up.

“That is the plan.” Delphine confirmed. 

“This will cure me, forreal?”

“Yes, Cosima is living proof of that. Her disease was more progressed than yours is now, and she is completely recovered thanks to the vaccine.”

Monica eyes started to well up with tears, this news meant so much to her. “Thank you so much.”

“It’s our pleasure, really.” Cosima nodded as she spoke. 

“Alex, since you are here in Brisbane, do you mind if we give you the vaccination as well? We will answer any questions you have about it.”

“I guess so, I mean from Monica’s coughing fit and just this conversation in general, it seems like a very serious illness and I don’t want to get sick.”

“Why don’t we all meet up tomorrow after Monica’s appointment and we can continue this discussion? It is a lot to process at one time.” Cosima offered.

“Sounds good to me.” Alex chimed in. 

“Me too.” Monica smiled, in a much different mood than earlier.

“For now though it might be best now to tell people about the whole clone thing, we want you to be more informed about our history first.” Cosima wanted to emphasize this point, as they did not cover the information on Dyad and being self aware.

“Okay, that is a good idea. There is so much more I want to know.” Alex nodded.

“Yeah, sure. I'm just happy to finally have someone that know’s how to treat this illness. Let me give you my address so we can meet at my place, i'll make lunch.” Monica didn’t know what was in store for the future, but it looked a whole lot brighter. They said their farewells for the day, as Cosima and Delphine walked towards their rental car. 

“That went pretty well, huh?” Cosima reached for Delphine's hand as they reached the car.

“Well they didn’t freak out too much, so I would say it went well.”

“There is still so much to tell them.”

“True, but i'm sure it will be fine, they both stayed rather calm during the conversation.”

“You are right. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the lovely other writers on this story who helped inspire me to write this and for allowing me to be part of this saga. Much love, Ash.


	6. Amelia LeBlanc

By the time they got to the car rental booth, Cosima felt like she was a walking zombie. Their flight was delayed due to engine problems which lasted 10 hours in their connecting airport then another 3 hours the tarmac, all for a three-hour flight. They had just landed in Charlotte, North Carolina in which they would have to drive another 4 hours to reach their reserved bed and breakfast where their next clone, Amelia LeBlanc supposedly worked. Cosima glanced at the wall clock behind the car rental clerk and it read 5:24 A.M., when their estimated arrival was supposed to be 10 P.M. the day before. 

Unbelievable.

Regina, the worker who was helping them with the car was a middle aged soft-spoken lady. She heard her chatting with Delphine about what she had done over the weekend with her family that involved the most wonderful pecan pie she had ever tasted from her neighbor, Sharon who also joined them. Cosima quietly observed Delphine’s interaction with her, which consisted of awkward laughs and glances to her, seemingly unsure as to how to deal with the situation. 

“Are you ladies planning to stick around for a little while? We have some pretty excellent fried pies at the food court. I know you French people like your pastries.”

Regina gave her back her credit card and smiled as she handed over the keys to the rental. The last bit of the statement made Cosima chuckle and Delphine looked very lost in how to respond. 

“Perhaps we will. But thank you very much for your help, Regina. I hope that I could try Sharon’s pecan pie someday myself.”

“Have a safe trip!” Regina said as they walked away.

\------------

“Cosima, I barely understood what she was trying to say.” Delphine said in a low whisper as they loaded up their luggage in the car. Cosima gave out a snicker as she went to the passenger side of the car. 

“Get used to it babe. The accent is just going to get thicker the further down we go.” 

“It’s so…”

“American? Foreign? Exotic?”

“Ummm…all.”

“If I started talking like this, you’d be lonely as a pine tree in a parking lot.” Cosima said in her best impression of a southern accent.

“What?” Delphine asked.

 

“Nothing babe.” Cosima laughed as they drove away.

\--------------

An hour out of the city, they had reached the mountain foothills with a few minutes to spare before daybreak. The drive consisted of many hills and humps with the breeze being cool and pleasant enough for them to drive with the windows down. The air was fresh and even though it was hard to see with the lack of street lighting, they knew that they were driving deep into a very lush and beautiful forest. The two of them had been exhausted from the airplane ride which generated very little conversation between the two of them, along with the cycle of Cosima falling asleep and Delphine waking her up to avoid falling asleep on the wheel.

As they drove a few miles ascending, they were greeted by a beautiful view of the mountains with the sun emerging on the background. The skies were clear with the orange sun coming out from the blue mountains ridges. They had then located a small diner that seemed to overlook the wonderful view and they both decided to go for breakfast while enjoying the scenery.

The restaurant was called Blue Mountain Diner and inside, the establishment had decorations of old barrels, deer horns, and pictures of the mountains that seemed very reflective of the place they were in. There were quite a few people inside, enjoying their breakfast and young lady smiled at Delphine and spoke to her. Delphine gave her a confused look and Cosima smiled while gesturing two fingers. The young lady smiled at her and they were led to sit at one of the empty booths.

“Cosima, I think you should talk to them from here on. I don’t understand anything.” Delphine said quietly as they surveyed the menu.

“Maybe.” Cosima smiled as she stuck a little bit of her tongue between her teeth. “We’ll see, but you know I think I’m going to get biscuits and gravy.”

“Uh—what?” 

“Good morning ladies. Would you like to hear our specials today?” An older Southern gentleman interrupted them as they were handed their glasses of water.

Delphine gave him an unsure look again and Cosima was convinced that this was going to be a source of amusement for her in this trip. She admitted that it was hard for her at the beginning to understand people in this region at first but she had never seen someone, especially someone foreign, deal with it firsthand.

“We would like to, Earl.” Cosima said.

Earl continued to list the breakfast specials they had, which all sounded foreign to Delphine as well. Things like breakfast grits, biscuits and gravy, sausage hash, and country fried steak and eggs were all so new and seemed so un-breakfast like. She opted for some toast with jam and orange juice while Cosima enjoyed her biscuits and gravy. This was part of America that Delphine thought never existed.

\--------------

The drive up to the bed and breakfast greeted them with lush greenery and clean mountain air. Their GPS had stated 20 miles until their destination and Cosima felt anxious as to how Amelia might react as she had done with the other clones she had met in the previous destinations. There were some that were self-aware, though it was always Delphine that met up with them initially to ensure little to no complications if they were ever not. 

Rolling into the driveway, they finally arrived at the Acorn Summit House. The house looked huge as it faced the breathtaking view that promised the best view in the state which towered over the border of the states Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia—according to the website. It was built out of bricks with an enormous balcony on the second floor. The two of them looked at each other before giving a satisfying smile as they began to unpack their belongings from the trunk of their rental.

“Good morning, Ladies. I’ll take your bags for you.” A well-bodied man with a Southern drawl approached them and took care of their luggage. 

“Hello.” Cosima said while giving a look at Delphine who seemed to give a longer stare at him than normal.

“I’m Evan, I’m gonna be taking these to your cabin if you guys would like to step into the main house. Julie is expecting you.”

When Evan had left, Cosima diverted her attention to Delphine.

“I saw you staring.” Cosima said in a low voice as she tried to catch Delphine red handed.

“H—he’s looks very attractive, like a celebrity.” She blushed and tried to collect herself, and that made Cosima giggle.

“I know we’re free from Neolution and all, but you’re not that free.” Cosime a little bit of her tongue to Delphine as she grinned.

Delphine smiled back to her and took her hand as they went inside.

\-------------

They went in and were greeted with a beautiful hallway that was reminiscent of colonial America with its elaborate lighting and meticulously embossed wallpaper. It felt like it came straight out of a magazine with its tastefully elegant furniture while still feeling very welcoming to its guests.

“Good morning! I hope you girls didn’t have such a rough ascend up here. I heard about your flight over the phone.” An older woman emerged from the staircase and shook their hand before she went behind a desk to perhaps retrieve their paperwork. The older woman looked slightly puzzled as she took a glance at Cosima, perhaps finding similarities to Amelia which Cosima started to take notice of.

“I—it was no worry at all, thank you for accommodating us.” Cosima said as she tried to avert her reaction and saw no reaction coming from Delphine. The older woman came to her senses and smiled back.

“No, actually, thank you for choosing to stay with us. I’m Julie, the maitre d’. If y’all ever need anything, just let me know.” She smiled and took out the paperwork for them to sign. “I take it that Evan had already taken care of your belongings. If so, these are the keys to your own cabin. We like to give our guests some privacy so we have separate quarters for them that’s fully equipped with everything that you may need during the stay. The meals will be served at 12 o’clock for lunch, 6 o’clock for supper and breakfast tomorrow will be from 7 to 9.”

“Thank you very much.” Cosima said as Julie handed them a key with a small acorn keychain on it.

“Oh, Delphine, I heard from Cosima that you are French. I learned this in New Orleans when my husband and I went on vacation last year, ‘Laissez les bon temps rouler!’”

Delphine’s brows furrowed when she heard her mother language being butchered by this woman.

“Oh oui, je suis d’accord avec vous.” Delphine replied back to Julie.

“Uh, oui!” Julie smiled back despite of not fully understanding what Delphine had just replied.

“Thank you very much, Julie. We will see you later.” Cosima said as they gestured to exit.

Outside when they were a few feet away from the house, Cosima looked at Delphine who seemed quite dismayed.

“Babe, are you okay?”

“Non, I—I don’t know.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t understand anything, it’s like she was speaking English but she was not.”

Cosima couldn’t help but giggle.

“It’s not funny, I haven’t felt this lost since when I was in my teens.”

 

“See, this is why I like you. You’re very attractive when you’re bothered over something so little.”

“Merde.”

“Look, it’s your mancrush.”

They saw Evan walking towards a small shack outside of their cabin and approaching another person who was fully clothed in camouflage gear. The other person was fixing something on the ground and as Evan approached, the person stood up and Cosima caught a glimpse of their face. She had a hat that hid her ponytail and she picked up a rifle from the ground. The familiar frame, would’ve given her away if it wasn’t for those baggy clothes but when she acknowledged Evan’s presence, Cosima automatically knew who it was. Without any doubt, that was Amelia LeBlanc.

 

The cabin was nice and open with a jacuzzi in the balcony that overlooked the view. They had their own kitchenette and a small dining and living area with a T.V. and record player side by side. It had room for a queen-sized bed while having a very open layout that was very cozy and relaxing against the view. To top it off, the cool mountain breeze was a pleasant addition.

“I don’t think she saw us Cosima.” Delphine said as they unpacked their clothes into the drawers.

“She may not have but I don’t even know how to approach her. I was hoping she’s part of the staff but she seems to be a hunter or something.”

“I can speak to her later this afternoon if you’d like to rest a bit or go to the main house for their afternoon activities.”

“How are you going to do that if you couldn’t even understand what Regina, Evan or Julie were saying?” Cosima teased as she laid on the bed.

“Her name is French. I believe she is French as well.”

“Probably just by heritage. I’ll bet you she will sound just like them.” Cosima teased.

“We’ll see.”

 

They had finished eating lunch with Julie and her husband Robert who had given them a brief tour of the property afterwards. The house was self-sustaining with their off the grid electric system, hydroponic greenhouse, and a small livestock ranch with cattle and chicken. They had revealed that the bed and breakfast was run by them and their two adopted children, Amelia and Andrew with the help of Evan who had started working there since eight years ago. Amelia oversaw the farm while Julie cooked, and Andrew, Evan, and Robert did the rest. Julie also noted that Amelia was an excellent marksman that often brought wild game for guests who wanted something unique to eat during dinner. Robert proudly pointed at the elk antlers that hung on top of the fireplace next to the dining table and said that Amelia had been only 20 when she had started hunting. Cosima and Delphine could see how proud they were of their daughter.

“Forgive me if I’m being rude Cosima but you have such a striking resemblance to my daughter. You even sound like her.” Robert said as Julie set the table for them.

Cosima laughed nervously and looked at Delphine.

“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.” Delphine said.

“It’s true, Julie and I spoke about this last night. It’s nothing terrible, I’m just very fascinated. I know people talk about having doppelgangers and whatnot but well, how about that. Didn’t expect to see someone at my door.” Robert said with the most southern drawl Cosima had ever heard.

“Bob, stop embarrassing our guests!” Julia yelled as she emerged with peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. “Here’s a little something to get you girls through the afternoon. Afterwards, maybe you’d like to walk around the garden and see the crops. Amelia should be back from her hunt soon with some rabbits for dinner and she can show you around to see if you need anything.”

 

Delphine went out to the part of the barn where she was likely to run into Amelia which was the weapons room. The room was enclosed with chain fenced walls and locked, perhaps to avoid anyone from stealing from it. DYAD had given her firearm training for her own concealed carry although the gear Amelia seemed to possess was mostly geared towards hunting. In this room, there was a spread of knives, rifles, and crossbows with an American flag taped on the overhead. In her mind, these weapons combined seemed enough to gear up a small town.

After a few moments, she heard footsteps approach and she saw Amelia with a crossbow on one hand and a burlap sack in the other. Amelia had noticed her presence and she gave a sheepish smile as she set the sack and her gear on the table.

(Can you translate this?)

“Bonsoir! Je m’appelle Delphine, je loge ici pour quelques jours.” Delphine approached with much relief to find another Francophone like herself in this side of the world.

“I—uh…” Amelia took hesitation.

“Votre mère a dit que vous chassez les lapins, il y en a beaucoup dans le coin? Vraiment, je suis contente de trouver quelqu’un à qui parler” Delphine continued, a bit faster in speaking and perhaps slightly more desperate.

“I’m sorry, lady. I know my name is French but I can’t speak it.” Amelia said to her in a distinct accent which Delphine seemed to not fully comprehend.

“Oh désolée, je n’ai pas compris. Pouvez-vous répéter?”

Amelia gave a loud sigh which made Delphine realize what she had just said.

“I—oh, I’m very sorry. I thought you understood me.”

“Very very little.” Amelia said while looking impatient or annoyed. Opening the sack, she revealed 5 rabbits that was just freshly killed. “I’m going to be skinning these, I don’t know if you wanted to stay or not.”

“That is fine. Although I would like to ask some questions to you if possible.” 

“Sure.” Amelia said as she pulled her knife out and started to work her way on her spoils.

“Thank you, I was wondering if you’ve been having episodes of severe coughing that seems to be common in this area. My group and I are trying to gather some information because it’s such an isolated place.”

“Nothing like that yet.” Amelia said with a drawl that Delphine failed to comprehend.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Haven’t seen anything like that.”

Amelia’s second answer did nothing to Delphine’s comprehension and she tried to comprehend by memory as to what Amelia may have meant. The southern accent for Delphine has proven to be one of the most cryptic things she’s come across, with its odd emphasis on the syllables. She stood frozen, trying to think of another action plan since she was pretty useless when she couldn’t even have a basic conversation with her.

“I’m very sorr—”

“She said she hasn’t seen anything like that, Delphine.” Cosima said as she emerged from the path.

Amelia looked at Cosima with an unphased look and continued to skin.

“Hello, I’m Cosima.” Cosima said as she approached. “I know this may sound weird but I’m your cl—"

“My clone.” Amelia finished her sentence for her.

Cosima and Delphine looked at each other with surprise and almost unsure of what to say.

 

“I know about y’all and I’ve already told MK that I wanted nothing to do with all of that.”

“You were in touch with MK?”

“Yeah, she came here herself and asked me to go with her but she knew I couldn’t do that. I’ve been living here ever since I was born and I didn’t want to risk my life for something I didn’t have to. I’m sorry if I’m being selfish.”

“I can definitely understand that and we’re not here for that. We have a cure that you will need if you don’t show signs of it already.”

“I’m not interested.”

“It might not be obvious now but you will need it eventually. It’s your onl—”

“Thank you very much for the concern, Ms. Cosima and Ms. Delphine but I am okay. If you excuse me, I need to get this ready for supper tonight.”

Amelia took her belongings with her and exited the room, leaving Delphine and Cosima floored by her response. The two of them had not anticipated that stone-cold response and it made them wonder as to what MK had disclosed to her and how much she knew. Perhaps her extensive knowledge in weapons would have made her a good candidate for the cause but her distaste for anything that the clones stood for seemed a little bit more personal than just not being interested.

Seeing Amelia react, Cosima saw her own stubbornness in her as she probably would have reacted the same way if a couple of strangers came by to disrupt her peaceful life.

“So, what now.” Delphine quietly whispered.

“I’ll talk to her again.” Cosima said.

\----------------

The dinner was slightly more formal than lunch, with a few other guests joining them from the different cabins. Julie and Robert were gracious hosts, spoiling and accommodating everyone’s needs with the luscious food they had prepared. The rabbits Amelia brought in were fried in buttermilk and flour, served with the typical spread of Southern style sides. The meal was simple, old fashioned and surprisingly wonderful.

“So, Cosima and Delphine, are the two of you vacationing away from your boyfriends?” Julie asked as they ate their dinner.

Hearing that, Cosima nearly choked while sipping on her iced tea, clearly taken aback from the question. She took a glance at Delphine and Amelia who were both waiting for her to answer.

“We, actually…”

“We’re lovers.” Delphine interjected which caused a surprised look from Julie and Robert. The two of them knew that they were not in a place that was extremely accepting of their kind but it was one of the things that was hard to deny for Delphine. After spending so much time holding back and lying for the sake of their safety, she thought that the worst thing that could happen to them was to get kicked out from this bed and breakfast or be forced to leave in the morning. Hardly a gamble when her past choices involved a possible bullet to her head.

The entire table went silent in trying to process her response and someone lightly coughed which snapped everyone back to their senses. They were waiting for Julie’s expression to change and it turned to a big smile that was impossible to spot as a front.

“Oh! That’s so wonderful!” Julie exclaimed in the sweetest voice possible. “The two of you seem to be very sweet ladies and thought about how lucky your husbands would be but this is even better!”

“Are you saying that men aren’t good enough, Julie?” Robert’s eyebrows furrowed which caused the people around the table to chuckle with him.

 

“Oh come on, Bob. Don’t try to deny that they don’t look good together.”

“I never said that.” Robert raised his iced tea glass to Cosima and gave her a wink. “I just felt like my ego as a man was slightly bruised with that.”

“Give it up old man, you made your call a while ago.” Amelia said which made her mother and the other guests laugh harder.

“Well, I know we don’t see this very often in this part of the world but I think the two of you make a very nice couple. I hope my wife here didn’t scare you off with how nosy she is. We’d love for y’all to visit again if you’re ever in town for next time.” Robert said to them with a smile.

“And they say chivalry is dead.”

“Not in this part of town it ain’t.” 

Cosima smiled to Delphine and held her hand underneath the tablecloth that caused Delphine to blush. Ever since they had traveled and made their relationship public, it had feel like they were back to the days they had just met and trying to make sense of all the feelings they’ve had with each other without the complications of DYAD and Neolution. Little gestures felt electric, with the two of them feeling weak in the knees with an inescapable magnetism that continues to prove that they were truly meant to be. Their affection for each other was undeniable and perhaps other people saw that too. 

The dinner continued even without them. With the presence of good company, they ate and got drunk on muscadine wine local from the area that caused them to bid an early adieu to their acquaintances. Entering their cabin, Cosima was quick to pin Delphine against the door with hungry kisses trailing down the pulse point of her neck.

“You’re so beautiful.” She whispered against the shell of Delphine’s ear as her fingers tugged on the band of Delphine’s underwear.

Delphine said nothing but moaned against her lover, hips grinding to find friction to rub against as she felt her body sear with fiery desire.

Everywhere Cosima touched burned her and she was eager to get off of her clothes and do the same to her lover.

A few moments after, they found themselves tangled in bed with skin against skin as they rocked each other into pleasure. Cosima’s hands held onto her hips as their arousal grinded against each other in search of release. Delphine’s trimmed nails held onto Cosima’s traps as she felt herself getting closer and closer to the edge.

“Don’t stop, please.” She almost yelled. Out of breath and not caring how her accent sounded in English like she usually did when she spoke.

Cosima made her eyes roll at the back of her skull as she reached down and rubbed her clit intensely.

“Hold it in for a little bit longer.” Cosima whispered as she sped up that made Delphine hang on by a very very thin thread. “You don’t cum unless I tell you to.”

Cosima’s words made her feel twice as agonized as she already was. She needed the release but she didn’t know how much until Cosima said that. Delphine was indeed close but she forced herself to give into Cosima’s desires as much as she could.  
Cosima played her like a harp but she knew she would cave in into desire in any second now. She felt tears forming in her eyes with the intensity of their lovemaking and she couldn’t form coherent thoughts with how fixated she was in orgasming.

“Please… I—I can’t take this anymore.” A few seconds pass and she is insanely close. Her tears start flowing down her face with her knuckles white from holding onto the sheets. She felt that she was about to pass out until Cosima finally uttered the word to let her release manifest.

Her orgasm made her feel like her spirit left her body and the massive wave kept going and going even when she didn’t realize that it was humanly possible. Even with Cosima’s hands not on her anymore, the residue spasms gave way to tiny waves of orgasms that were most deliciously satisfying.

“Are you okay?” Cosima asked, out of breath as well. She wiped her tears away which Delphine was thankful for since she couldn’t feel much of her body after what had just happened. The sex with Cosima has always been interesting to her as her lover always found ways to keep things interesting between the two of them. 

Cosima laid beside her and gave her a kiss on the forehead as she covered themselves with the sheets.

“What can’t you take anymore, Delphine? How much of a sex goddess I am?” Cosima grinned that caused Delphine to smile back. She was too tired to move or to reply coherently but they didn’t need any words at that moment. Cosima gave her a light kiss on the lips as they spooned and she closed her eyes with a big smile on her face. This was what freedom felt like.

 

During the next two days, they enjoyed the company of the LeBlanc family who recommended them to take the hiking trails that wrapped around the ridge of their residence. The views were breathtaking in each stop they had taken and their tour guide for this walk, Evan, was very knowledgeable about the shrubbery they had passed by in the trails. They found out that Evan and Amelia often hunted together when they were young since Andrew, her brother, took an interest in machines and woodworking during high school. Amelia then became a better hunter than Evan ever did so he stepped on the sidelines, just following her with what she loved to do.

They walked through the small forest until they reached a ridge.

“She was always so passionate about the things she liked. Amelia really liked to hunt big game and she even won a few awards for hunting big game. She eventually stopped because Mrs. LeBlanc feared her getting seriously hurt.” Evan said as he set the cloth for them on the grass with a view that overlooked the horizon.

It was around 4 o’clock in the afternoon and the mountain air breezed through gently. He unzipped his bag and laid out a small insulated container that had three bottles of sweet tea, fried apple pies and some napkins.

“I know why you two are here.” Evan said in a hushed tone which raised both Cosima and Delphine’s eyebrows. “I’m Amelia’s monitor. Well, was. DYAD stopped funding my paycheck a while back and I found out that they went under. I imagine that the two of you probably have something to do with it.”

They heard no bitterness in his voice but the two of them were unsure as to how to even respond. It was clear that what DYAD was doing was unethical and there was nothing they could do about it, despite of whatever Evan can say.

“We had no choice or no say in the matter,” Delphine said, apologetically.

“We’re sorry Evan, it was just wrong in all fronts.”

Evan stayed silent as he chewed on his pie and he took a long gulp of his drink while the two ladies felt tense. They were in a vulnerable spot where Evan could do anything to them if he wanted to. After all, he was paid to promote something they had worked so hard to destroy.

“They kept me in the dark for a while until MK showed up and talked to Amelia. I overheard them talk and I did my own research. Going in, I admit that it was a just a job at first but her and Andrew are like family to me now. She wasn’t some clone like how they dehumanized her in the papers they sent me. She sure as hell wasn’t subject R924X0 in my eyes. Just a plain girl that had a knack for hunting.”

“What will you do with this information?” Delphine asked.

“I mean no harm to the two of you or her family. When they stopped paying me, it stopped feeling like a big deal after a while. I don’t know if I can say the same 10 years from now but I’ve decided to stay, pay or no pay. These people are the only family I know now. At least I don’t have to keep writing those annoying weekly progress reports.”

“Evan, I don’t know how what else to say but thank you. I still think it’s wrong to have monitors to begin with but Amelia is lucky that she got matched with you,” Cosima said which made Evan smile. In the brief moments that they saw Evan interact with Amelia, it was easy to see that he greatly cared for her and the feeling was most likely mutual.

“She’s stubborn but I’m sure she’ll come around with whatever your business is with her,” Evan said. “Well, except if you ask her to leave.”

“No, it’s nothing like that. There’s a cure that we need to give her for a disease she will eventually develop,” Delphine said.

“I see. Well, I hope the best of luck to the two of you with that.”

“Thanks.”

\-----------------------------------

In the evening, they decided to have dinner in their cabin and take a break from the regional provisions that the LeBlanc family had been cooking for them. Missing a piece of home, Delphine had requested for fresh vegetables from the garden which Andrew had graciously provided, along with some lamb shoulder to make Navarin d'agneau. On top of that, they were blessed with some cheese that were made by the neighboring farm and a bottle of wine from a vineyard in the Carolinas. By the time they had finished the meal, it was already nightfall and Cosima decided to turn on the jacuzzi that sat on the back porch. Cosima looked through the records for the turntable and settled on a Sam Cooke album from the 60s before she hopped into the hot tub.

“We’re running out of time, Cosima. We need to convince her to take the cure before we leave.” Delphine said as she joined her.

“I was hoping to talk to her today but I couldn’t find her. Andrew said she would be in town for the entire day for a delivery.”

Delphine stayed quiet as Cosima approached to sit beside her and wrapped her arms around Delphine’s waist with her head on the crook of Delphine’s neck. She closed her eyes as she felt Cosima’s body along with the hot water easing her tense muscles. After a few brief moments of silence, she noticed Cosima starting to hum along parts of the song to her.

I love you for sentimental reasons  
I hope you do believe me  
I'll give you my heart

“I saw myself when we spoke to Amelia that day, and even with Evan today. I’m sorry but I’m thankful that you put up with my stubbornness.” She heard Cosima speak as she kept her eyes closed.

“Of course, I love you.”

“It’s not easy because I know—”

“Shh, I know, I forgive you. It’s okay, je t’aime.” Delphine said as they stayed longer in the embrace.

Delphine wasn’t sure if it was the hot water, or her exhaustion from the heat and humidity that caused her to feel so relaxed. She felt Cosima’s heart beating a little faster than usual, which she thought was perhaps because of the water. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with Cosima’s lips on hers and it felt like the first time they kissed again with electricity radiating all around her body.

“You’re mine, okay”, Cosima whispered against her lips.

“Always”, Delphine replied before crashing her lips against hers.

I love you  
And you alone were meant for me  
Please give your loving heart to me  
And say we'll never part

\--------------------------------------------------

It was the last day before they needed to head out and there were new guests who had arrived from the city near the foothills. A few other trucks had arrived carrying other equipment and they found out that every season, the LeBlanc family hosts a small community dinner that had music and dancing for the guests and locals to enjoy. Upon this busy celebration, their hosts provided activities for them to do until the party as they busied themselves with the preparation of setting up the deck for food, music, and dancing.

The party had begun earlier than they were used to in other places, but it made perfect sense as it revved into full gear around sunset. They were introduced to several people who lived in the neighboring farms, most of them were close friends of Amelia, Evan and Andrew. Delphine wore a simple summer dress that was fit for the occasion while Cosima wore a white button down with a bowtie that Delphine insisted on. There was a table for food and alcohol, which was all accompanied by a jazz quartet near the stage area. They played swing and blues with songs that Delphine surprisingly knew by tune through her father’s old records.

Having an eventual fill of the party, Cosima and Delphine took Julie’s recommendation to visit a meadow was less than a mile from the property which guaranteed to have the best view of the sunset. They said their goodbyes to their newly found acquaintances with promises of visiting again when the time permits. When they found themselves alone, Cosima took Delphine’s hand and laced her own fingers to hers with the cool air tickling her ear.

The path they walked through was unnaturally beautiful with the sounds of mountainous wildlife greeting them into the late evening. There were no words needed to be said with the sound of laughter still heard from the background blended with cicadas that lived deep in the forest.

“I never imagined this moment would come for us” Delphine said in hushed whispers that was only meant for Cosima and the flowers to hear.

“Me neither, I’ve always thought that I would only see you again in my dreams.”

Her response rewarded her with a chuckle from Delphine and she felt a tug on her hand as they finally arrived to the open field. It was slightly harder to see now that the sun was setting but an entire array of perennials were scattered in front of them with the blue ridges that have greeted their presence in the duration of this trip. She looked to her side to meet Delphine and found her looking at her tenderly like she always did. She gently pulled Delphine down to meet her lips with a kiss and a gentle breeze passed by them in this perfect moment.

It was the beginning of dusk and the golden hue of sunset was scattered over them. That’s when Cosima found Delphine the most beautiful.

The kiss had lasted a little bit longer than the two of them intended but it had eventually broken, much to their disappointment. Delphine led them to the bench for them to sit on with the faint sound of music still audible from the party.

We lived our little drama  
We kissed in a field of white  
And stars fell on Alabama  
Last night

She heard the trumpet play its solo with piano notes accommodating it that fit for the occasion. The stars had gradually appeared as the golden sun slowly retreated. Cosima leaned on Delphine they sat and they watched dusk turn into twilight.

“Normally you would say something anticlimactic like how an experience like this would be twice as amazing with pot or alcohol. What’s on your mind?” Delphine asked.

“Hmmm…” Cosima hesitated as she chose her words carefully. She moved away as she took Delphine’s hand and looked at her face to face “Well, with such a beautiful woman in my arms right now, I don’t know if I can handle two.”

“Bee charmer.” Delphine said as she felt her cheeks redden. Cosima kissed her hand that made her heart skip a beat.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you.” A pregnant pause came across Cosima again, this one having more tension than the previous. “Was there ever a time that you felt like what you were doing wasn’t worth it?”

Delphine was slightly unprepared for the question but she knew that this was probably something that Cosima had wondered about for quite a long time.

“There were times I felt broken beyond repair with what happened between us and the things I had to hide from you. It wasn’t easy but it was never easy right from the beginning.”

“I’m sorry you had to make those hard calls.”

“If I was given the chance to do it all over again, I’d do it a thousand times over. You and your sisters were worth it. Even you alone were worth it.”

Cosima did not answer and looked away. This time, Delphine noticed that Cosima’s ears had gotten red.

“And you say I’m the bee charmer,” Cosima eventually said. “Are you sure you’re not just saying all these things to distract yourself of Evan?”

“I’m sorry Cosima but you’re unfortunately stuck with me.” Delphine giggled with Cosima’s lighthearted tease.

I need no soft lights to enchant me  
If you'll only grant me the right  
To hold you ever so tight  
And to feel in the night the nearness of you

\--------------------------------

In her final resolve, Cosima had decided to visit Amelia in the barn before they went off to bed. It was her final night of seeing her after all and she had been in good terms with Amelia and her entire family throughout the duration of their stay. She had told Delphine to go ahead without her and she spotted Amelia with a basket of fruits with her.

Amelia put the basket down by the bench that sat near the barn as Cosima approached.

“Hello Amelia, do you have a minute to spare?” Cosima asked.

“Yeah.” She said sounding slightly uninterested.

“I know you don’t believe me or anything but you really need to have this cu—”

“I’d like for you to know that MK told me about Evan and my family.” Amelia interrupted that hushed Cosima. She then eagerly waited for Amelia to elaborate more. “She told me about this fake family, Evan who is hired to monitor my every move, this fake life. Ever since MK came here and told me all these things, everything I knew about growing up started to look like a lie. I didn’t want to join her because I didn’t even know how to deal with it myself. I don’t know what is real and who to trust.”

Cosima looked at Amelia shedding her tears and it resonated with her. Finding out that your entire life wasn’t what you thought it would be was something that depressed her throughout her undergraduate education which she eventually came to terms with.

“I felt like that too when I found out the same. We’re not that far apart since we’re the same person after all but this, all this is still you. You’re the one that makes up Amelia LeBlanc, the extremely skilled woman who comes from the mountains of Alabama. There’s only one master marksman with the name of Amelia LeBlanc that I know, who’s also the daughter of two very wonderful parents. Only one who could tend a garden and make it extremely self-sustaining that could easily feed a whole village. Your life isn’t tied to who you were, but rather who you are now.”

“And what about DYAD? Evan betrayed me.”

“The organization is dead. It was dissolved a few months ago due to unethical practices.”

Amelia looked at her in disbelief. Looking as if this was the first time she was hearing about it.

“Unfortunately, MK was one of the people we had lost in that fight.”

“I—I’m sorry.”

The two of them gave a moment of silence to their fallen sister. Letting the grief sink in between the two of them.

“Evan is staying for good. He told us that there was no better family than what he has right now.”

“I see.” Amelia didn’t answer immediately but Cosima could see her expression soften up a bit compared to the days she had spent with her. “I’m very sorry for how I acted towards the two of you.”

“It’s okay, I totally understand what all this means to you.”

“If you can, please tell me about this cure before you administer it.”

Cosima spent a good 2 hours trying to catch Amelia up with the things that they had done towards the eradication of DYAD that stimulated Amelia’s interest. She had revealed details about MK’s visit, and how she felt guilty with her refusal to join the cause. With the clock showing as a quarter ‘till 1 in the morning, Cosima had finally injected the cure in her and they felt a closer connection to each other compared to before.

“Thank you for taking the time to come. You literally saved my life,” Amelia said as she gave Cosima one final hug in front of her porch. “Please have a safe trip tomorrow and come back to visit anytime.”

“Don’t be surprised if I take you up on that,” Cosima said with a smile.

Cosima closed the door and changed into sleeping clothes as she felt too exhausted for a shower. She hopped into the sheets with Delphine’s back facing her and pulled the sheets towards her body.

“Why wear something you’re going to take off anyway,” Delphine lazily said as she faced Cosima. Cosima felt Delphine’s radiating body heat against her skin, eventually realizing that Delphine had been naked and patiently waiting for her.

She gulped as she felt her pulse speeding up and her underwear getting slick. Delphine’s grip on her hand felt like lava that shook her upon the first touch. Her fingers found Delphine’s soaked underwear which she ultimately began rubbing against. There was something about Delphine Cormier telling her what to do that made her mind go into overdrive. 

“Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet.” Cosima whispered as she made Delphine’s hips buckle.

Her teeth grazed Delphine’s ear which made her moan in pleasure.

“Merde.” Delphine cursed as she found her sweet release.

It was 7:30 am in the morning and they had finished breakfast at the same diner they had begun their trip from. The LeBlanc family had given them a small basket of things to savor on the road with wishes of them to come back and visit again. The sun was already up and they lingered a little bit to take one last look of the beautiful mountain ridges. The trip they took felt more like a vacation and the thought of having to do this a hundred times over with her lover made Delphine’s heart swell with joy and contentment. Against the sun, Delphine loved the look of her lover despite of her being in simple clothing that she has seen her wear several times before. This woman was the love of her life, finally devoid of disease, free, and by her side.

She took Cosima’s hand and grinned to herself with the satisfaction of this newfound freedom she never would have perceived the year prior. She was stuck in an island full of her enemies with no hope in ever seeing Cosima again. Delphine wrote dead letters to Cosima to keep herself sane. She wrote about endless stories and fantasies about their times together, what she would have done differently and numerous admissions of guilt that caused them to drift. She had saved a few of these letters though she didn’t feel ready to disclose their existence of them anytime soon. The past was so far away from them right now and she felt truly satisfied in being in the present.

Giving Cosima a squeeze as they stared at the horizon together, she didn’t even have to ask as to what the gesture was about. 

“I love you too, Delphine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used:  
> I Love You for Sentimental Reasons - Sam Cooke  
> Stars Fell on Alabama – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong  
> The Nearness of You – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong


	7. Ellen Lauritzen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was not written by me, but by Tempus. This is her fist fic and sadly there is an issue with AO3 which means she cannot make an account atm. As soon as this is resolved the chapter will be transferred there.  
> This chapter is set in Norway, enjoy.

She opened the door and the cold weather caused goosebumps to appear immediately. It was still dark outside. This time of year there weren't many hours of daylight. 

She smiled while moving towards her car. She loved the dark, quiet morning hours, the only sound coming from the light breeze. It had been snowing again last night, the crystals sparkled in the dim light from the single streetlight. The only prints in the snow were her own and what looked like tiny paw prints, presumably from a cat. 

Her smile shortly disappeared as she once again discovered she had left her mittens inside. No time to get them; she would be late for work, and if there was something she hated it was being late. She always estimated plenty of time, and this wasn't going to be the first day arriving late, if so only by a couple of minutes. 

She pulled her sleeves down to cover her hands the best she could while removing the snow and ice on the windows. She coughed lightly and a smile appeared on her lips again. Her doctor had told her years ago she had asthma and should probably move to a place with a warmer climate, but she loved this place. 

"God morgen! Håper du er godt kledd, det er meldt kulderekord igjen i dag!" ( _Good morning! I hope you have enough clothes on, it will be a temperature record again today!”_ ) Her neighbor smiled warmly. Before she got a chance to answer he disappeared down the hill on his kicksled.

After driving for ten minutes it was finally getting to a good temperature inside the car. She coughed again, a little harder and longer this time, leaving her short of breath. Her eyes quickly dropped to the photo glued to the dashboard. She could instantly feel a familiar lump in her throat, but forced herself to a sad smile. It had only been a few months, but it seemed like a lifetime since she had seen her sister, even longer since they had actually had a real conversation. 

She thought about her sister's last days, how she had been fighting for every single breath, the small body so exhausted she could barely open her eyelids. For identical twins they had been so different growing up, sometimes she wondered if the only thing they had in common had been their looks. Their parents used to dress them up in matching clothes, but before they had finished kindergarten her sister had insisted on choosing her own clothes. In high school her sister had started wearing heavy makeup, dark clothes and had dyed her short hair jet-black. 

She touched her own soft brown curls, sighing at the memory. She wasn't nearly as wild or free spirited as her sister. She had always been the good girl; the one who always wanted to please others. The last year they had gotten closer. Now that she was never able to talk to her twin again, she regretted how they had drifted apart for so long. 

She took a deep breath, the now warm environment making it easier. She knew deep down she should probably see a doctor. Her cough had always been worse in winter, but the last five weeks or so it had been getting particularly bad. She shook her head, forcing the negative spiral of thoughts to stop. She couldn't bring herself to consider it was the same lung disease her sister had died from. No, it had to be the asthma. It was, after all, an unusually cold winter, even for the small town famous for its record breaking cold weather. 

She could barely finish her last thought before her eyes caught a glimpse of something moving in front of the car. She stepped on the brake and the car started sliding sideways on the slippery road.

\---

"Okay, wow, look at this!" she was practically skipping out the doors from the small airport. It was a beautiful morning, the sunrise bathing the snow covered mountains in a deep red and orange color. 

"Are you gon... hey Delphine?" She turned her head, her girlfriend nowhere to be seen.  
"Where did you go?" she said, a little louder this time. 

"I'm here!" she heard from around the corner. 

Cosima walked towards the voice and found the blonde woman already loading their stuff into the rental car. 

Delphine looked up, blowing a curl from her face, her breath was clearly visible in the cold air. Cosima smiled softly as she looked at the woman in front of her. How beautiful she was with rosy cheeks like splashes of paint on her otherwise pale skin. She could feel her heart skip a beat as their eyes met. 

"What's the hurry, don't you want to stay and watch the sunrise with me?" Cosima cocked her head. 

Delphine smiled back, her teeth chattering slightly. "Cosima... It's freezing here. Even the coldest day at Monreau’s island wasn't nearly like this. Come on, we can watch the sunset tonight. From inside"

"You're from France, aren't you like supposed to be used to cold weather? You have pretty cold winters too, right?”

Delphine chuckled, amazed at how her clever girlfriend seemed to know so little about the climate of the country they were staying in for the next few days. "Get in, it's an hour drive before we reach Tynset". 

As they drove away, Delphine glanced at the airplane they'd been in only half an hour earlier. She didn't want to admit it, but she felt nauseous when she thought about having to board the propeller again. It was, if possible, even smaller than the one from Bogota to Cartagena. It seemed impossible for her to relax, but somehow Cosima had managed to fall asleep both times. 

\---

She opened her heavy eyelids, the bright light stung her eyes and made her pupils constrict. Her lips curled as she realized she'd have yet another dream. Or maybe it was more of a memory this time? She found herself having a hard time separating her dreams from things that had actually occurred in her life; the lines became more and more blurred. She listened to her shallow breath, unable to completely understand where she was. 

Low voices could be heard from a distance; the steady ringing in her ears made it impossible to make sense of the words that were said. After a few moments she realized exactly where she was, panic rising inside her, heart slamming against the rib cage. The ringing in her ears no longer sounded as a steady beep, it was now uneven and rapid. White jackets moved around her as she tried her best to sit up straight, pulling at the tube in her arm. She felt a calm hand on hers, and whispers saying everything would be alright before she drifted off to sleep again. 

\---

"Good morning, Mon Amour," the blonde woman said, the pad of her thumb stroking the brunettes cheek lightly. She leaned down to trace kisses on her jaw line. 

Cosima woke up with a toothy grin on her face. She would never be tired of waking up next to the love of her life. "Good morning. What do you want to do today?", she said, her voice rusty.

"I don't know, aren't you supposed to be the tour guide?" Delphine giggled at the memory of Cosima sitting on the floor in Felix' loft, different maps and tourist books splayed around her. She had insisted that they'd have some fun and carefree hours every place they went to. 

"Of course, but the polite thing would be to ask. I have the day planned already". She coughed lightly and felt the woman next to her tense instantly. 

"Are you okay?" Delphine said with a frown. 

Cosima nodded. "Don't worry. The treatment worked, you know that. It's just a normal cold". She craned her neck to kiss the blonde. 

"I know, it just takes some time to get used to not having to worry all the time", Delphine said against her girlfriend's lips before leaning in to deepen the kiss.

A few hours later they were having lunch in a nice little cafe. Their sightseeing had been cut short as they had realized there wasn't much to see in the small town, and the temperature made it impossible to stay outside for long. Cosima had enthusiastically told Delphine some of the things she had read about the town. How the town hall had once been voted Norway's ugliest, and that there was an ongoing competition between this and another town on which one could make the largest kicksled. Tynset was currently in the lead, the kicksled being eight meters high and seventeen meters long. 

The plan had been to go sightseeing first, then find Ellen Lauritzen, but it turned that finding the clone was a little more difficult than they had thought. No one had heard from her in a while. Because it was a small town they had decided before traveling to Norway it wasn't necessary to make any appointments in advance. 

Delphine had made a few more phone calls, and when she called the local hospital, they could confirm Ellen had been admitted some time ago. They wouldn't give up much information by phone, they only said Ellen's situation wasn't good, so the two women quickly got to their car. 

Cosima could feel her hands tremble slightly as they drove the short distance. She could see Delphine biting her bottom lip and knew her girlfriend was as worried as herself.

Arriving at the hospital they quickly made their way to the counter. The man behind it gave them a suspicious look when they asked for Ellen Lauritzen. After Delphine had showed him her ID card, and convinced him that Cosima was Ellen's sister, he agreed to give them some information. 

They listened carefully as he told them Ellen had been admitted the first time almost exactly a year ago due to a car accident. They had found her breathing worrisome, so they did extended tests, the scans showing polyps in her lungs. They had tried different treatments, but her health had declined rapidly, until she was admitted again a few weeks ago. 

As he began to explain there was nothing else they could do, Cosima interrupted him. "Which room is she in?" 

"304, but we're not hopeful she'll make it through the day. You really should-" before he was done talking Cosima was already running up the stairs, two steps at a time. 

It felt as if her lungs were about to explode by the time she reached the room. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath.

She slowly opened the door and saw the small woman laying in the sterile room. She whispered her name, but the woman was asleep. Cosima sat down on the side of the bed, gently stroking her cheeks, removing strands of matted hair. 

Ellen could hear her name from afar. It was a mere whisper, but she was sure she had heard it. The voice was familiar, full of love and hope, making her heart flutter. She could feel tender hands touching her cheeks, the warmth a welcoming feeling against her cool skin. 

Vaguely she opened her tired eyes, her vision blurred, but not for a second uncertain of what she saw. The familiar face looked down at her. Words were spoken, but the noise in her head made it impossible to understand the meaning of them. With a struggle she lifted her hand, the other woman's fingers entangled with hers, a perfect fit, just like they had done so many times growing up. "Du er her," ( _You are here_ ) she said through chapped lips, her words so tiny she was unsure if she had actually spoken them. 

Her lips formed a weak smile as she drew a last unsteady breath, the noise in her head finally silencing.

\---

"We lost her," Cosima said, her voice barely audible. She closed her eyes as she thought about how they had left Ellen the night before. They had been allowed to stay for a little while before they had been told to leave. Cosima would never forget the feeling of Ellen's already cooling forehead against her lips as she had kissed her goodbye. 

Delphine extended her arms to touch her girlfriend, but Cosima quickly pulled away.  
"Ma chérie, it is not our fault, we were simply too late". 

"Yeah... We were too late. We were busy living our happy lives, doing stupid shit when we should have been here! I know damn well we were too late!" Cosima’s voice was louder now, her eyes hard and dark. 

"We couldn't have done anything Cosima, a day, a week, we would still have been-" 

"You don't know that!", the small woman interrupted, her lower lip visibly trembling. "I can't do this anymore Delphine. I'm just so tired. We can't save them all, can we? There will be more like her. We will always be too late for someone"

"But we will also be in time. Some of them will get a real chance, a chance they won't get if we give up". Delphine sharply inhaled as she tried to keep the tears from falling. 

She couldn't stand to see her lover like this. Her heart was breaking, and she wished she could make all her pain go away. If she could make Cosimas pain her own she would do it in a heartbeat, just to spare the clone from more suffering. She had been through enough, and Delphine couldn't help but wonder when Cosima actually wouldn't be able to take it anymore. That time would come, she was sure of it. No human being could endure this much pain and suffering without being scarred. 

She reached for her girlfriend again and was relieved that Cosima welcomed her embrace this time.

Delphine glanced out the window and saw the first rays of sunshine above the mountains. The snow glittered in red and orange, a new day breaking through. 

Delphine tightened her grip around Cosima as she listened to the sobs, feeling her lovers hot tears running down her chest while she whispered soothing French words into her ear.


	8. Amira Hazan

On the plus side, they hadn't had to concoct a story or an excuse for once. Nor as it turned out was it necessary for Cosima to conceal or disguise herself for this particular encounter.

On the minus side…

"I don't know, dude," whispered Cosima, peering intently at her clone's face. Or anyway, what she could see of it under its raw weeping surface; the familiar features were obscured by edematous swelling and a reddish-purple rash, with dark violet blister-like lesions that exuded an unbelievably foul-smelling liquid at the slightest touch. "That looks pretty gnarly. Is she even going to last long enough for the cure to kick in?"

It was a legitimate dilemma, Delphine realized with dismay. They were running low on the initial batch. Back home, Scott was working overtime, running the synthesizers and amplifiers around the clock and coordinating with a former Dyad colleague to ensure an adequate supply of the viral vector that had been specially tailored for the clones. He refused to be anything less than meticulous in his quality control assays, taking particular care in making sure that the cultured cells remained untransformed; he rarely complained but she knew of the myriad difficulties he faced trying to maintain GMP in the Rabbit Hole's basement lab. His rigorousness was one of the many things she admired about him but there was no getting around the fact that the numerous checks slowed production to a trickle. "I think we have to administer it, chérie. It may bolster her immune system just enough to give her a better chance to fight off the infection."

As she drew up a dose and quickly injected it into the clone's slackly unresisting deltoid, she tried not to think about their dwindling supply, and the handful of clones still to be treated in Serbia, Bulgaria and Italy. They'd decided to save Italy for the last leg of this trip, looking forward to taking a break and staying with a med school classmate of Delphine's who lived on a small farm in Umbria. Last-minute information unearthed by Hellwizard had resulted in their making a side trip here to the Corps Médical Humanitaire facility on Samos; his source had been more than a little sketchy and vague but, as Cosima had argued, they were already in the area and if there were even the possibility of an opportunity to help another of her sisters, there was no way they could pass it up.

And so they found themselves now in one of CMH's rudimentary portable clinics, hovering anxiously over a medical disaster.

The clipboard that held the patient's chart hung from a hook next to the bed. "Amira Hazan," said Delphine. Skimming through the miscellany of hastily scrawled notes, she summarized them aloud for Cosima. "32 years old. Used to be a textile worker in Aleppo. Her husband Nabil is thought to be deceased after their boat capsized in the Evros River while they were attempting to cross. Amira was rescued by smugglers but they stole her money and left her stranded in a forest, where she was picked up by the Greek police. They brought her here when she was found unconscious and febrile in a detention center." As she paged through the increasingly grim updates and test results, her heart sank.

"What is it, babe?" asked Cosima, clearly reading her expression and body language.

"Based on her clinical signs and labs, probably necrotizing fasciitis."

"Wait, that's, like, flesh-eating bacteria, isn't it?"

"Yes." Delphine worried at her lower lip with her teeth. "Which they almost certainly don't have the means to properly treat. This," she waved a hand, encompassing the saline drip with its vancomycin piggyback and the softly bleeping vital signs monitor, "is just the barest minimum of supportive care."

"What about MSF? They have a hospital on Agathonisi, maybe she could be transferred there?"

"I'm not sure they could handle this, either. These facilities are set up to provide only basic healthcare and first aid. She needs a fully staffed ICU that can maintain her in a medically induced coma, possibly for weeks, not to mention an advanced surgical team and a lengthy course of antibiotics. But even if they could find a hospital that would accept and treat a refugee, I don't think she would survive transfer to the mainland."

Carefully, she held her hand over Amira's forehead. Even from several centimeters away, she could feel the fever radiating from the skin.

"Cormier!"

Before Delphine could sort out why the bellowing voice was so familiar, she found herself engulfed in a powerful hug. The subliminal impression of short iron-gray hair, muscled arms and an ample bosom mingled with the scents of antiseptic cleanser and harsh laundry detergent to coalesce into a name and a welcome presence. "Peg?" she gasped.

She was released, but strong hands still clasped her shoulders. Bright blue eyes shone up at her from behind rectangular glasses, surrounded by sunbursts of laugh lines in the round weather-beaten face. "So it is you. Didn't think there would be two Delphine Cormiers looking to volunteer with this two-bit outfit."

"Hello, Peg," she said, happy to see her friend and former mentor. Peg looked older, of course, but the smile, the no-nonsense air of competence, the brusque but warmly generous personality were all just as she remembered. "I wasn't expecting to find you here. Congratulations on your promotion!"

"'Regional International Medical Personnel Coordinator' sounds schmancy but mostly it means I'm forever buried in red tape and paperwork. But it does come with a few perks. Like being able to personally pull strings when a blast from the past sends a cryptic and completely uninformative message requesting help via the Greek authorities." Giving Cosima a brief but piercing look, she returned her attention to Delphine. "Director of the Dyad Institute, hmmm? Even when you were a lowly med student I knew you were going places but I didn't expect _that_. Not so soon, anyway."

"I should clarify that I’m the _former_ director. Interim. There were... extenuating circumstances. And I suppose you could say that I'm actually, euh, freelance now."

"No matter. It's still a pretty darned impressive accomplishment at your age. But what in the name of all creation are you doing here? And don't tell me you're looking for a career change. Not that I'd turn you down, mind you."

Delphine laughed. "Not quite. But I'd be willing to lend a hand for a day or two if you can use me. I can still hit a vein, though I hope my bedpan-cleaning days are behind me."

"That might not be the best use of your knowledge and skills," said Peg wryly. She extended a hand to Cosima. "Peg Sharpe."

"Cosima Niehaus." Cosima shook the hand firmly in return.

"My girlfriend," added Delphine, smiling when Cosima crinkled her nose adorably at her.

Peg took this revelation in stride without so much as a blink. "Last I saw you, you were practically headed down the aisle with that French doctor fella."

Up went Cosima's eyebrow. _Later_ , Delphine pleaded silently. Cosima held her gaze a beat longer, then tilted her head. _Okay. For now_ , said the set of her mouth.

"I, euh... what's the saying? I traded up."

Regarding Cosima appraisingly, Peg nodded. "I'd have to say I agree. Now. Any chance you'd care to tell me why your girlfriend happens to look exactly like our unfortunate patient here?"

Delphine just barely managed to keep her mouth from gawping open. She didn't have to look to see that Cosima was doing the same.

Cosima recovered first. "No offense, dude, but… the fuck?"

The veteran of twenty years as a Navy nurse and ten in humanitarian aid work ignored the obscenity like oilcloth shedding rain. "I might be one of the muckety mucks now, but when I'm on-site I like to keep my hand in. Which means getting to know at least something about every patient on the ward." Picking up Amira's chart, she flipped to the last page, showing them the photocopy of the clone's passport picture. Its details were somewhat grainy and blurred but anyone with a keen eye could see that the face was indeed identical to Cosima's. Particularly since Amira had been caught scowling and Cosima was currently wearing her most pugnacious expression.

Delphine squeezed Cosima's arm and caught her eye. Cosima nodded almost imperceptibly and took a deep breath. "Peg, is there someplace we can talk privately?"

*********************

They left the rented scooter secured at the small parking lot at Potami Beach. A few hundred meters up a hill, the paved road gave way to a gravel path. Following the directions on the map they'd been given, they walked down to a road that was labeled prominently "To Seitani." The route was well marked with painted red arrows and dots, they were relieved to see. There were steep rises and dips that took them in a meandering path past a small hut and then a series of olive groves. They walked at a pace that was comfortable but required enough energy in the already stifling morning heat that neither of them felt like talking, content to listen to the sounds of the other's breath and occasional grunt of effort, the ground crunching under their boots, the birds flitting about overhead.

After half an hour or so, they reached Mikro Seitani. The little pebbled cove was beautiful but unappealingly full of bathers, most of them nude. Cutting sideways glances, they silently agreed to move on. Another hour's walk took them through forested hills, past several villages of terra cotta-roofed houses and yet more scruffy looking olive groves; finally they came to a long set of shallow concrete stairs that led down to a wide crescent-shaped beach with mountains looming behind. Tiny sunbleached pebbles tumbled in the waves lapping along the shore, the clear turquoise water of the Aegean whipped into rollers by a stiff breeze. It was absolutely gorgeous. Best of all, there was no one else around. The lone rickety pier was empty of boats, nor were there any intruding on the horizon as far as they could see. Small crude cottages dotted the far-off end of the bay but they'd been assured that these were unoccupied.

"Awesome," said Cosima, panting lightly. Dropping her backpack and flopping down in the shade of some scrubby little pine trees at the base of the cliff, she pulled out a bottle of water and gulped at it before offering it to Delphine, who took it gratefully. Taking off her own pack with a groan, she sat on the ground next to Cosima and removed her hat, using it to fan her flushed face.

The sight of Cosima shucking her hiking boots and socks and hastily stripping off her clothing made her laugh. "What are you doing, chérie?"

"Baking a cake, what does it look like I'm doing?" An electric purple sports bra and matching panties joined the haphazard pile on the beach. "Come on, give me a hand with the sunscreen. I'm sweating like a mofo and I can't wait to get into that water."

Giggling harder, Delphine liberally smeared lotion over every bit of Cosima's skin, dodging when Cosima playfully moved to hug her. "Go on, I'll join you in a minute."

"Last one in's a rotten egg." Cosima handed Delphine her glasses and bent to give her a kiss that tasted weirdly of chemicals and coconut, then skipped down the beach. Wading out, she dove into a wave and came up shrieking. "Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck!"

Delphine was already sprinting toward her, boots sending up gouts of water that splashed all over her clothes. She grabbed Cosima, frantically checking her all over for any injuries but finding none. "What is it, what's wrong?"

Cosima was shaking in her arms. With laughter, Delphine realized, holding her lithe slippery body close to keep her upright. "Dude. Did you seriously just run out here fully dressed?"

Assured that Cosima was all right, Delphine looked down. She was indeed standing waist-deep in the crystalline ocean. Fully dressed. "Yes, I did, petite chieuse. Why did you scream? I thought you might have stepped on a sea urchin or gotten stung by a jellyfish."

"Because the water's fucking cold! There's a rip current running perpendicular to the beach. When I swam under it to get out of the flow, the temp dropped like twenty degrees." She draped her arms around Delphine's neck. "And you were gonna save me. My hero. Hey!" she said indignantly when Delphine pinched her bottom.

The heat was now so intense that it seemed to press down on them like a physical weight, so they retreated to the narrow slice of shade at the cliff base. They sacrificed one of their bottles of water to thoroughly rinse Delphine's socks, which they spread out along with the rest of her clothes and her boots over a flat rock to dry in the sun. With her back supported against wind-smoothed rock, Delphine sat with her arms around Cosima, who nestled snugly between her legs. Idly she played with Cosima's dreads, watching salt crystals catch the light in the intricate twists.

"Look! Seals!"

Delphine squinted to see where Cosima was pointing. Sure enough, five sleek shapes glided effortlessly across the bay. She pressed her lips to Cosima's temple as they watched the seals dive and play, catching and eating fish with quick flicks of their heads. After a few noisy minutes, the animals vanished just as suddenly as they had appeared.

"Hey, babe, are you hungry? I'm hungry."

Her watch informed her that it was barely 10:00. Months of traveling with Cosima under sometimes spartan or unpredictable conditions had necessarily made her relax her lifelong discipline of never eating between meals; she still felt a tiny thrill of guilt whenever she broke the rule. But breakfast had been hours ago and the unaccustomed exertion of the long walk had sharpened her appetite. "Yes, I am," she admitted, reaching into her pack for the insulated container that held the picnic lunch provided by their B&B host.

A brief rummage turned up a cardboard box of small triangle shaped pastries. "Holy shit, that's good," said Cosima with her mouth full, holding up the little golden brown packet so Delphine could take a bite.

Crisp layers of buttery phyllo enclosed a filling of roasted zucchini, potatoes and creamy feta enlivened with the unexpected zing of mint. "Mmmmm."

They ate in silence for a while, enjoying the flavors of the food and the simple, elemental pleasure of being alone and naked together in such stunning surroundings. "At this rate we'll finish all of this before noon," said Delphine, even as she scarfed down the last of the dolmathes; stuffed with herbed rice and lemon, they were deliciously tangy and light.

"Eh. We have plenty of water, which is way more important. And if we get desperate, Agata said a lot of people in the villages we passed are willing to sell stuff to tourists." Cosima absently licked flaky crumbs from her fingers and settled her head more comfortably against Delphine's shoulder. "Delphine?"

"Yes, Cosima?"

"Do you think she's going to make it?"

"Amira? I really don't know. That was a brilliant idea, using maggots to debride the necrotic tissue. Peg said her fever was down somewhat yesterday and the infection doesn't appear to have spread any farther. She’s still unconscious and in a very precarious state."

"She might not thank me if — when she wakes up. Like, Sarah totally freaked when she found out she had _one_ maggot-bot in her cheek. Knowing you’ve got a hundred real live ones squiggling around all over your face and body and chomping away… ugh! But I'm glad Peg didn't think it was too off the wall."

"Peg is a firm believer in using whatever means you have at your disposal to help a patient get better. Even if it is 'off the wall.'" She chuckled. "Of course, your method of obtaining the maggots would be officially frowned upon in a clinical setting."

"Hey, it worked for the Mayans." Lightly Cosima stroked the inside of Delphine's thigh. The skin there felt instantly electrified in response. "Bulgaria next, yeah?"

"Yes. We'll fly to Thessaloniki in the morning, then catch a bus to Blagoevgrad."

"Which means there’s gonna be like hours and hours tomorrow where I can't touch you." Tipping up her head, Cosima kissed her softly. "And I don’t know if she’s said anything to you, but Agata kind of hinted not too subtly that the other guests have been coming to her with, um, noise complaints about us. So… "

Anticipating Cosima’s intentions, Delphine felt her heart rate accelerate. She smiled into their kiss. "Turn around, chérie," she whispered hoarsely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive my indulgence in borrowing a character from [one of my own stories](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7593100/chapters/21413375), but I figured that someone who could potentially help Cosima and Delphine gain access to difficult or dangerous locations in their quest would be an immensely valuable addition to Clone Club. Thanks to [FrenchClone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrenchClone/pseuds/FrenchClone) and [lesbian_geek_spiral](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbian_geek_spiral/pseuds/lesbian_geek_spiral) for letting me play in their sandbox!


	9. Emma Pieters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to [FrenchClone](http://archiveofourown.org/users/FrenchClone/pseuds/FrenchClone) for not only helping me edit this chapter, but also for encouraging me to write it in the first place, I wouldn't have finished it without your help in so many ways. Thank you!
> 
> To those who would like to add their own imagination to this fic, please contact either me or FrenchClone. We would still love to add more stories to this fantasy, we like to see your very diverse imaginations at work!

Cosima hit the side of the van repeatedly, until finally the driver noticed and the little autobus slowed down and then, at last, came to a full stop. Someone sitting on the row in front of Cosima and Delphine slid the door open.

Delphine gave Cosima an exhausted smile, and handed the baby on her lap back to his mother. Within ten minutes of the start of the bumpy ride the small child had tugged on Delphine’s blonde hair and had tried to stuff it in his mouth. When she had gently pried the lock from his fingers, his fascination with her had not stopped. He had crawled from his mother’s lap on to Delphine’s and his big brown eyes had inspected every part of her face, his strong fingers tugging on the odd fabric of her clothes and the straps of the backpack resting on her knees.

Patiently Delphine had played with him, silent games of peek-a-boo and had satisfied his curiosity until he fell asleep after almost two hours. His mother had been watching Delphine with a very similar fascination, though she refrained from touching the foreign lady. The young woman had trusted Delphine, even when the roads became bumpier and rougher as they travelled further inland, even when they started jolting around so roughly that Delphine had wrapped her hand around the child’s head to keep him from bumping into the hard iron bench in front of them.

Cosima had watched Delphine interact with the baby for a while, and later she observed the other passengers. Their colourful dresses, the way they were chatting and sometimes even singing with complete strangers, it all seemed so peculiar to Cosima. She had not expected to end up in deep dark Africa when they had made plans to go cure the Leda clones.

“Cosima?” Delphine had somehow already managed to crawl out of the tight space and was standing in the dust next to the road. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah, one second.” Cosima handed her backpack to the man sitting next to the door, who gave it to Delphine. She then carefully threaded across three pairs of legs and a chicken in order to reach the door, stumbling into Delphine’s arms. “We’re going to have to take that van back to Kigali, don’t we?” Cosima asked Delphine as she stretched her legs and rubbed the bruise on her arm where she had been pressed against the window.

“Yes, did you not enjoy it?”

Cosima hesitated for a moment, considering the thirty people in a van made for maybe sixteen. Then, making up her mind, she said, “I did like it. Despite the heat and soreness, it has to be the best way to see a country like this.”

Delphine nodded. “Much better than hiring a driver.” She waited for Cosima to readjust the piece of red and blue cloth she had wrapped around her head against the dust. With the massive sunglasses and loose fitting clothes, the clone would be near unrecognizable. “But I do believe that I bruised every single muscle in my body,” Delphine said as she rolled her shoulders and stretched her back.

Cosima only nodded; her throat ached, the rusty dust from the road had settled deep into her lungs but every time she coughed Delphine looked so worried she now avoided clearing her throat unless absolutely necessary.

The village they had ended up in looked just the same as the dozens they had passed through. The bus had dropped them off just past a brick church, the only building as far as they could see that was not made of mud. All around them were people walking about without hurry. A few young men with bikes carried yellow jerry cans of water uphill, and group of kids in ragged school uniforms were giggling underneath a tree, pointing at the two white ladies standing in the middle of the road.

Hammered onto a wooden cross was a sign. “Centre de Santé,” it read in chipped letters, and on the next line “Archdiocèse de Kigali”. The name of the town underneath had become unreadable, but the two women knew they were in the right place.

They followed the mud brick wall towards the uniformed guard polishing his boots on a stool next to a gate. When he saw the two women approaching he waved and cheerfully greeted them, “Bonjour.”

In the big city most people they had interacted with spoke fluent English, but they had been warned that in the rural areas of Rwanda the education levels were very low and only the younger children spoke some English. It was a relief to Delphine to hear some of her own native tongue, even if it was the remains of colonial times, she would be able to talk to people even when Cosima could not.

Enthusiastically, Delphine asked, “Pouvons-nous voir la Mère Supérieure, s'il vous plaît?”

The guard laughed, and shrugged. Apparently his French was quite limited.

“Could you show us where to find the Mother Superior, please?” Delphine repeated, this time in English.

The guard smiled again and sat back down on his stool and picked up his cloth and continued cleaning his boots. Since the two foreigners could not make themselves understood, he could not help them with what they wanted from him.

Cosima and Delphine looked at each other. People walked past them, glancing curiously but going on about their business. Children were carried into the clinic, and adults launched in the grass between the buildings. Nobody stopped the two women from walking past the gate.

Alison had found a clone doing medical research in this particular clinic in Rwanda.She had been neatly in the register of Leda clones provided by Rachel, but she had not been living at the given address for almost six months, and her social media had not been updated for an equal amount of time. Alison had figured out where the only surviving Dutch clone, called Emma, worked and had contacted the university. After some asking around she had managed to figure out that Emma was an entomologist doing malaria research and was doing fieldwork at a health somewhere in rural Rwanda.

The health centre had been even more difficult to find than the clone, since the town in which it was located did not even have an official name and the medical centre run by nuns was not exactly well represented beyond the Catholic Church. Still, Scott had had managed brief email contact with one of the nuns who, so he claimed spoke decent French, to ask them for permission for two scientists to collect some patient data on intestinal parasites in the area.

They were supposed to find the nun, and preferably before they ran into the clone, who might recognize Cosima even with the sunglasses and scarf. “Over there,” Cosima said, pointing at a room in which a couple of women in western dresses and coifs were sitting behind a laptop.

“You think?”

“We can ask,” Cosima said determined, and walked towards the building. She knocked on the door, and pulled Delphine inside with her as the nuns looked up.

It was Delphine who spoke, asking the same question she asked the guard.

One of the nuns replied in rapid French. Cosima could barely understand the basics of the conversation that followed. She assumed that this older woman, wearing a plain blue dress with an apron and a heavy iron cross around her neck was the person in charge of the health centre, the Mother Superior. Cosima was quite sure Delphine had confirmed this, and the nuns had been expecting them. She lost track of the conversation after a while, which must have wandered from general politeness towards the research they were supposed to do in the health centre.

Suddenly Delphine switched back to English, addressing Cosima, “I told the sister that you’re not feeling well and would like to lie down.”

“Right,” Cosima nodded. She had been looking out of the window, at the people coming and going; she wanted a tour of the clinic, and maybe the village too, but the risk of her running into her clone and being recognized was simply too big here. In the bus they had decided that Cosima would be sick and hide, but now Cosima was regretting it.

“It’s for the better, we don’t want to risk you being recognized.”

“Yeah, I know,” Cosima said, doing her best to look miserable and sick. “Let’s get me to bed and you’ll tell me everything tonight.”

Delphine nodded.

Together they followed two of the nuns between the buildings and through a back gate. Around a small, secluded garden stood several concrete buildings. The older woman took a set of keys from her apron pocket and opened the door for them. She gestured at Cosima to enter, speaking slowly and with the kindest smile Cosima ever saw. Despite the language barrier, Cosima would have felt safe and cared for if she had actually been sick.

“She asked if you need medicine,” Delphine translated.

Cosima smiled and shook her head. “Perhaps some water for washing and drinking.”

Delphine translated Cosima’s request and told the nuns they had their own medications and that Cosima just wished to sleep.

Speaking in their native language, the nuns discussed something, and the younger one of the two left quickly.

“Someone will bring some water soon,” Delphine told Cosima. “I’m going to have a look around and see if I can find Emma, but I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“Obvs,” Cosima said, and sat down on the bed with a sigh and a pout.

The nun patted her shoulder and smiled at her before leaving.

Delphine repeated the gesture, and added a sly wink before following the nun outside, closing the door behind her.

When the women had left, Cosima wandered around the room for a moment. It was a bare concrete box; neither the walls nor the floor was painted. The ceiling was a strange latticework of wood and what seemed to be cardboard. The first thing she had done when arriving in the room was closing the curtain so that nobody would recognize her, thus the only light came from a bare bulb swinging on a loose tread on the ceiling.

Delphine and Cosima had set their bags in front of the wardrobe. A table and chair, made of the same untreated wood as the closet were standing in front of the window. A bed, made with faded sheets and supplied with a neatly tied mosquito net, was the last object in the plain room. Cosima peered into the only doorway besides the one leading outside. The bathroom had a toilet and sink, but neither had running water. Instead, a bucket filled to the brim would serve.

She dug in her backpack to find a book, and then settled down on the bed to wait for Delphine to return. It would be a while, but if she went outside the chance of running into her clone was too big. And they were simply too recognizable in a place like this to be able to avoid being recognized. So instead, Cosima occupied herself with a biography of Dr. Jane Goodall, the famous primatologist, while she listened to the singing drifting in through the cracks in the window from the chapel across the yard.

\---

The sun set at exactly six in the afternoon. After that, it slowly became quiet outside. The sounds of the choir and the drums accompanying them stopped, and the street beyond became quiet. Only the crickets remained, and Cosima had almost started to fall asleep when finally Delphine came back.

“Bonsoir, ma Chérie,” Delphine greeted her enthusiastically. She closed the door behind her and set a tray on the desk.

Cosima got up from the bed to greet Delphine with a kiss and an enthusiastic, “Hello.”

“How are you?” Delphine asked.

“I’m fine,” Cosima shrugged. She glanced at the tray, and said. “I’m just hungry.”

“I brought you dinner.” Delphine gestured for Cosima to sit down at the desk.

Doing as Delphine suggested, Cosima sat down. “I can see that, thanks.” The plate on the tray was protected against flies, and worse pests, by a paper napkin. Next to it was a cup of tea and a handful of bananas. “Did you already eat?” Cosima asked as she removed the napkin.

“Yes, the nuns insisted I had dinner with them.” Delphine sat down on the bed; there was only one chair in the sparsely furnished room.

Cosima took a forkful of the rice and beans and nodded while she chewed. “I understand.”

“I’m sorry. I get that this isn’t the most fun for you, but we’re the only three white people in the entire district at least, there is no way people would not see the similarities between you and Emma. We stand out too much.”

“I know, it’s okay,” Cosima spoke as she ate. She knew the drill by now, except for those clones that somehow had become self-aware already, she avoided meeting any of her sisters. Which she regretted very much; she was curious for their similarities and quirks and unique traits. But Cosima had to make due with Delphine’s anecdotes of the clones she met and cured. “Did you meet her?”

“Yes, I had a look at her research, it’s very interesting.”

Cosima recalled the documents that Art had sent them about this clone, which she had read on the plane and slightly unsure which disease Emma was working on she asked Delphine, “Malaria?”

“Yes, it’s a serious problem around here. More than half the people in the area get it every single year, and far too many children still die from it.”

With her mouth full of dinner, Cosima could only nod solemnly.

For a while she ate in silence as Delphine searched in one of the bags for something.

When Cosima put away the plate and started to peel a banana, she asked Delphine, “How about your own research?”

Delphine shrugged. She had retrieved the medical equipment she needed to cure one more clone and sat back down on the bed before answering her girlfriend’s question. “It went fine. I explained to them I was studying host-parasites relationships, and they handed me the registers with all the data. I took a few notes, and had a look at the laboratory. If I were to actually study parasites this would definitely be the place to be, but the laboratory is not much more than one microscope and hundreds of stool and blood samples,” Delphine said. “Scientifically speaking I wou-“

She was cut off by the sudden darkness as the lights went out. Delphine quickly found a flashlight and after trying the light and checking her phone, which she had been charging, they came to the conclusion that the electricity had disappeared.

By the light of the torch they continued their conversation, which wandered from human infectious diseases to sub-Saharan research in general, and then logically to Goodall and the book Cosima had been reading before Delphine came in.

“Can we go see the gorillas before we leave Rwanda?” Cosima asked Delphine.

“Sure, why not? We have plenty of time,” Delphine answered without hesitating. “But first we have another clone to cure, and I know just how to do it.” She held up a bottle in the light of the torch.

Cosima nodded. “I’m coming too.” She wrapped the cloth around her head.

“Are you sure? What if the light comes back?”

“I’ll take my chances, let’s go.” Cosima was impatient and held open the door for Delphine.

It was still early in the evening, but absolutely pitch black outside, just like indoors. Only the light of the stars shone above Cosima and Delphine. Within seconds they stood outside Emma’s door, who’s room was right next to their own, and Delphine knocked. The sound echoed against the plain metal sheet.

“Hey, are you awake?” Cosima called. It was dark behind the window, which was not so odd considering the lack of electricity.

“Yes, I am.” A voice called from inside and the door opened. “What’s up?” Emma shone a bright flashlight right into her visitors’ faces.

Cosima and Delphine instinctively flinched away from the bright light. Luckily Cosima had been standing in Delphine’s shadow, and Emma did not show any sign of recognition.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Emma apologized profoundly. “I’ll point it at the floor, sorry. What’s up?” She let the bundle of light drop to their feet, so that all they could see were the rough features of each other’s faces.

“We have this bottle of banana wine, and we figured you might like some company…” Cosima held up the bottle of curious wine that they had found in a little shop in the city.

“Yeah, sure. Please, come inside,” Emma went ahead into the small room, which looked exactly the same as the one Cosima and Delphine were staying in. In the dim light of the flashlight, which the clone had laid on the desk so that it was pointing into the room and away from the people, they could see a few stacks of books and toiletries littered on the desk. Emma moved a book she apparently had been reading to the side so that she could sit on the bed, and pointed at the only two chairs in the room for Cosima and Delphine to sit down. “How are you feeling? Are you still sick?”

“Not really,” Cosima answered, assuming that the question was aimed at her. “Just very tired now.”

“I understand. Do you want to lie down?” Emma asked. She was already moving to stand up from the bed to make space for Cosima to lie down.

Cosima shook her head, sweeping her dreadlocks in a wide circle around her. “No thanks, I can sit. I’m okay, really.”

“How long do these blackouts usually last?” Delphine asked. She was a little anxious that the light might come back and Emma would recognise her own face, but she knew there was no arguing with Cosima once she had made up her mind, and besides, it would not be the first time that a clone became self-aware.

Emma did not seem to be bothered by the lack of light. “An hour, or two. Sometimes a couple of days. Eventually electricity always comes back.”

In the meantime Cosima had filled three cups with the banana wine. She held a cup out to the clone on the bed, and another to Delphine.

“Kubuzima bwacu,” Cosima said, recalling the toast from her phrasebook.

Emma was the first to take a drink, and even in the very dim light her grimace was obvious. “Oh no, that’s disgusting! It doesn’t taste like bananas at all.”

“It doesn’t taste like wine either,” Delphine said.

Cosima tried a second sip, and carefully tasted before saying, “More like beer. Like really, really bad beer.”

Yet they kept drinking, and the conversation started to flow a little more easily, and Emma opened up about her experience of African life and her own research as Cosima and Delphine listened to both sides of her story with equal fascination.

“Last week I saw a group of people fishing using the mosquito nets.”

“We saw some lying on shrubbery on our way here,” Cosima told her, and Delphine nodded her agreement.

This did not seem to surprise the entomologist at all. “Yes, that’s to protect the crops from the birds. When you have to choose between feeding your children today or risk them getting sick tomorrow, the choice isn’t that difficult.”

Delphine shook her head sadly. “But kids die from malaria and other vector borne diseases.”

“They die from drinking the water too. Or going to the public lavatories. Or simply from malnutrition. But they have no choice,” Emma sat perfectly still, but she rambled on in much the same way Cosima would whenever she got excited about something interesting. “Water from a tap costs money, and the water from the lake is free. Even if that means getting parasites, because wood to make a fire to boil the water is expensive too. Toilets aren’t available for the majority here, and a shared bathroom is a horrible source of infectious diseases. And food... ” Slowly her monologue dwindled. With a deep sigh, Emma’s shoulders slumped and she took a long drink, not knowing what else to say or do when there was so much to say and do. Too much.

“You’re helping them,” Cosima tried to comfort her.

“So are you.”

“Right.” Delphine glanced at Cosima beside her. “So are we.”

“There is just so little we can do. Even here, for every one person we can help, there’s another person dying of something that we could easily treat back in Western countries,” Emma told them.

Cosima finished her cup before answering. “But even if we can save one person, would that not be worth the work? To have saved one live, to give that person a chance to live; that makes all the difference to that one person. And maybe they help another person. That would be worth all the work, right?”

“Right…” Emma whispered. She had finished her drink, and held the cup out to Cosima for more.

“Are you okay?” Delphine asked.

Emma nodded, and her teeth flashed in the darkness as she gave a brave smile. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just tired you know. I’ve been away from home for a long time, and being so isolated, with nobody to have a real conversation with, either because we don’t speak any common language or because they have such backwards religious ideas I cannot possible relax around them; it’s exhausting.”

“We can only imagine,” Delphine said. “We’ve been here less than a day and at least three nuns already asked me where my husband is.”

“What!?” Cosima laughed. “Seriously?”

Delphine did not answer, she only nodded and buried her face in her cup.

Cosima continued to laugh, only catching her breath long enough to ask Delphine, “And where is your dear husband, mademoiselle Cormier?”

“At home with the kids,” Delphine rolled her eyes in the dark.

It only made Cosima laugh louder.

For a while they drank in silence while Cosima continued to giggle occasionally. Emma clearly did not understand the joke, but she did not ask for an explanation.

“You know, this stuff isn’t so bad. Once it has killed all your taste buds it is almost decent,” Emma said, holding up her near empty cup.

“It’s still horrible!” Delphine exclaimed.

Emma took another drink to demonstrate that she was not too bothered by the vile taste of the banana wine that tasted neither like bananas nor wine. “After a while eating nothing but rice and beans, anything that tastes even remotely different is delicious.”

“Seriously?” Cosima gasped, thinking back on the plain dinner of rice and beans she had eaten a few hours ago. It did not seem so bad, but every day, for months… “Do the nuns feed you nothing else?”

“Oh, they do. On other days it’s beans with rice,” Emma laughed at her own joke, and then more seriously added. “Nah, the fruit is good. And occasionally we get eggs or meat. Like once a week there’s cassava or ugali.”

“Oh, wait,” Delphine interjected. “I’ll be right back.” She stood up and walked away, using her phone as a flashlight she left to the room next door she shared with Cosima.

Emma looked at Cosima, but the American only shrugged as if she did not know exactly what Delphine was doing. “What’s ugali?” Cosima asked.

“It is raw maize dough,” Emma answered. “It’s pretty good.”

Delphine had not been gone for long. She rushed back into the room, and carefully closed the door behind her. Before she sat back down she handed something to Emma. “There, you need this more than we do.”

“What’s this?” Emma held what Delphine had given her up into the light of the flashlight. It seemed to be a yellow candy bar, slightly crushed and the name was illegible in the darkness.

“It’s like a Mars bar,” Cosima said, recognizing what she saw.

Delphine shook her head fiercely. “It’s much better; it’s a Nuts.”

“What’s that?” Emma frowned.

“It’s French,” Cosima explained very helpfully.

“It’s good,” Delphine said. “Try it.”

Emma gently peeled open the yellow wrapping. In the dim light of the torch lying on the desk Cosima and Delphine saw her eyes grow wide at the sight of the slightly molten and severely crushed chocolate bar as if she had found a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s factory. With an indecent moan she bit a tiny bite from the bar, chewed attentively and then swallowed it slowly. “That’s really good,” she mumbled before taking another small bite.

While the clone on the bed savoured the chocolate excruciatingly slowly, Cosima and Delphine watched her while finishing the last of the banana wine.

“Thank you so very much.” Emma got up from her seat on her bed and threw the empty wrapper into the wastebasket . She was swaying slightly as she made her way back to the bed.

Delphine nodded, she kept a close eye on the figure in the near dark. “Sure, you look like you needed that more than we did.”

“Trust me, just made my week,” the clone said slowly. Her speech became more slurred as she continued. “No, my… my… month.” Slowly, she collapsed on the bed.

Cosima rushed to catch her head before Emma hit the headboard, and together they put her in a more comfortable position lying safely on her side.

In the near darkness Delphine sat on the edge of the bed and checked Emma’s pulse while Cosima went to retrieve the cure for the clone. She had based the dose of sedative in the chocolate bar on Cosima’s weight, but this clone was even more skinny than her girlfriend was. Perhaps it was the bland diet for months that had made her lose weight, or this clone simply was smaller. Either way, her heartbeat was just fine and she was breathing deeply; Delphine was not worried.

Cosima returned quickly and handed Delphine the box with the cure and medical equipment. She shone the small flashlight on Delphine’s hands and watched the French doctor put on gloves and disinfect Emma’s arm. She then saw how Delphine expertly filled the syringe with the substance that Cosima had created to cure her sisters and injected into Emma’s arm.

Neither of them spoke as Delphine packed the medical equipment and handed it to Cosima. Delphine untied the mosquito net from its complicated knot and draped it around the clone; she would be safe from disease. Quickly they checked the room for any evidence of what had just happened. When they found none, Cosima and Delphine exited. If Emma had any questions in the morning they would tell her she had fallen asleep after drinking too much; the horrible quality wine would give them all a hangover that would be all the evidence they needed.

When they stood outside, Cosima turned the flashlight off and took Delphine’s hand. It was only three steps to their own door, but neither of them was in a hurry. Hand in hand they gazed at the starlight, unlike any they had seen before. It was bright enough to cast their joined shadow on the floor. Billions of small lights twinkled in the distance, a dozen different colours. To their right side, the Milky Way was scattered across the sky.

“One more saved,” Delphine finally whispered.

Cosima simply smiled back at her girlfriend. “Let’s go to bed,” she said and tugged Delphine towards their own room.

A few minutes later they had both changed out of their clothes and splashed some lukewarm water from a bucket in their faces in an attempt to wash a little. Delphine was brushing away the awful taste in her mouth while she watched Cosima tried to untie the bed net and drape it around the bed. With a little struggle Cosima managed to crawl underneath it and lie down.

Delphine quickly joined her, and after she turned the light off she grasped Cosima’s hand. It was too hot to sleep any closer together.

After a goodnight kiss, they lied together in the darkness, listening to the crickets outside.

Delphine heard Cosima’s breathing next to her, and pondered the conversation between the two clones she had just witnessed. Finally, she whispered, “Did you mean what you said?”

“What?” Cosima asked sleepily. She had been on the brink of falling asleep when Delphine’s voice had called her back.

“About saving one person? You don’t think this is a bit futile what we’re doing?”

Cosima shifted in the bed, rolling over to face Delphine in the complete darkness before she answered. “Yes, of course. Even if we can cure only a few of my sisters, they might be able to help some other people. Sure, Emma here is a doctor and she literally saves lives, but what if a crackhead from New York saves a baby from drowning tomorrow, or if the Australian marine biologist rescues the coral reefs. We don’t know. We can’t know how many lives we’re indirectly saving, so we might as well try to help who we can help, you know? Like Goodall says ‘Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.’”

“I know.” Delphine understood now what Cosima meant. Maybe saving two hundred and forty-something clones was not saving the entire world, but it mattered to these women, an anyone who’s lives might be affected them. An immeasurable number of people. Cosima saw the connections, she saw all these lives affected. Delphine reached out with her free hand to cup Cosima’s cheek. “Your mind is a wonderful place,” she said.

Cosima laughed. “Thanks.” In the darkness she thought for a moment, before leaning in to kiss Delphine’s temple. Unable to see her girlfriend’s face she planted a kiss on her eyebrow. “I love your brains too,” she whispered.


End file.
